Revival
by aeondaniel
Summary: Beginning with the death of Rinoa, emergence of a lost form of sorcery, return of a God and some unknown carnation of Ultimecia, will Squall and Zell every find the time for themselves they both need?
1. Transfusion

**Revival.**

**Chapter One - Transfusion**

She had been quite beautiful. Her build was petite, and her face was gaunt and thin. From what little flesh remained unburned, Squall could make out a pale complexion, and around the victim's pale neck was a slightly melted silver chain with a now deformed medallion emblazoned into her breast plate. The eyes, which had once danced with life, were now dark, but nonetheless beautiful, deep hollow pools, but also, where the pupils had once been, a small gleam of colour remained, and from this life seemed to radiate.

Squall saw the glimmer in the pools and curiously bent in for closer inspection, his brow furrowing over his bloodshot eyes.

The glimmer was identified as vivid purple; so small that from a short distance it was indistinguishable, and yet, as soon as Squall was close enough to make out the reflection of his own deep brown eyes in the pools of the deceased, his eyes locked on the purple glow; transfixed.

Memories flooded before Squall; his childhood, first SeeD mission, Zell, Quistis, all his friends, Ellone, Laguna - his father, Raine, Ultimecia, Edea's house…but oddly, he saw them not in his mind's eye, but in the small glimmer that surely must have been a window into a magnificent power, a soul…..

And all at once, the memories faded. Squall's eyes wrenched themselves away from the glimmer, and began to sting and water. His head tingled, as though being charged electronically, and while Squall once again owned his eyes, something was distinctly different. His vision had become blurred and his balance left him, leaving him confused and disorientated, unwittingly fumbling around the empty morgue.

Until the sensation stopped, and his eyes seemed to cloud over, as though in the middle of dense fog; Squall was met by darkness, and simultaneously by rest. His eyes closed, he became light headed, and he fell to the floor, unaware of any pain, or indeed of any pleasure.

While Squall lay in a state of limbo, Rinoa's eyes became void of colour and life. No one was around to see the single tear that rolled down her cheek, a solitary pool of violet tinged water that seemed to represent the young woman's spirit leaving her earthly body.

-

_There was fire; everywhere. The TV Station was visible up ahead through the inferno, apparently untouched…as-of-yet. Quistis and Zone were a little in front, running with all their might, burns and gashes all over their bodies, visible through ragged clothes. Quistis' whip swung out every now and then, striking on coming attackers out of the way, while Zone shot any other assailants with his two handguns._

"_C'mon Watts!" Squall called, but Rinoa's voice had replaced his own, and looking down he found his body was Rinoa's also. Strangely, he wasn't bothered. It felt natural. "Keep up, we're almost at the TV Station!"_

"_Coming Sir!"_

_Jumping through a wall over fire, Squall shot the Valkyrie that he found on his arm after a group of soldiers he had seen out of the corner of his eye before following Quistis and Zone up the stairs which lead to the Station. _

"_5, 6...maybe 7...we should be able to take them" Quistis was shouting back, readying her whip while Zone reloaded his gun. Squall found himself tightening the Valkyrie's strap._

_8 robots stood in a line in front of them; right outside the entrance to the TV Station. Quistis jumped high into the air and yelled as her whip collided with one of the robots' sensors, sending it toppling backwards; short circuited. Two more robots fell as two well aimed bullets shot from Zone's guns. Squall was on auto-pilot, firing projectile after projectile._

_3 robots remained when Watts caught up. His shinobu thwarted another of the robots, and then Quistis entered the heightened state of battle - aura - and her ray-bomb obliterated the remaining enemies._

_She smirked as she walked calmly into the Station, followed by a grinning Zone. Squall stayed behind to see Watts safely into the station, before closing the door behind him._

_Somehow, he managed to lock the door and put a sheet of ice over it to keep it from opening. The ice wasn't as clear or as cold as it should have been; somehow a strange kind of warmth emanated from it while it took on a purplish hue._

"_So this is when being a sorceress comes in useful" Quistis said, smiling at Squall at the other side of the room. A surprisingly high and girlish giggle emitted from Squall's mouth. Once again, he found nothing strange. The blond began fiddling with cameras and screens, connecting monitors and screens and machines while Zone and Watts looked out onto the massacre from the upstairs window. Squall joined them._

_  
"Princess…." Watts began as Squall approached "It's not good out there"_

_Nothing remained recognisable. The train station, the hotel, everything was masked by smoke and flame, the only visible feature being a hovering menace in the distance from which more Galbadian soldiers were landing in Timber. Fighting off tears, Squall closed his eyes and grasped a ring that he found hanging round his neck._

"_It's over for Timber….Isn't it?" he asked his comrades._

_Zone and Watts looked, crestfallen, to the floor. All hope had left them; all thoughts of a grand liberation from the hand of tyranny had been quashed in a few short hours. Squall tried to smile but he couldn't, his eyelashes were becoming damp and if he wasn't distracted soon he might..._

"_Over here!" Quistis shouted._

_The whip mistress stood on top of a large consortium of machines, surrounded by a total of five glowing screens and a series of complicated looking wire systems and circuit boards._

"_Rinoa" she said to Squall "can you use some magic to jump start this?"_

_Squall nodded. He wiped his eyes before raising a small hand out in front of him, and from it shot a light blue jet of light. The screens immediately projected images of a beach, a seaside town, a forest. Balamb lay, open plan, on the floor, beneath Quistis' feet, earning yet another smile from the blond instructor._

"_Let's get out of here. We'll need assistance if we're going to win." _

_Zone and Watts nodded agreement, and they rushed to join Quistis, who was readying a thundaga spell at an aerial that Squall had only just noticed was hanging from the ceiling._

_But Squall stopped dead in his tracks. A cold breath seemed to slide down his back and he shivered. Slowly, he looked behind him, towards the door encased in ice…_

_It blew open. Watts and Zone shouted, as Quistis rushed forward to drag Squall onto the teleporter. Through the door stepped Seifer, who was holding an odd gold artefact, and he smirked at the sight before him._

_Time seemed to pause. Tall, menacing, and cruel, Seifer had a glazed look in his eyes as his mouth curled slowly into a snarling grin, his hand clutched tightly to the strange gold item; slowly Squall managed to see that the SeeD failure was cut and bruised in many places beside his characteristic scar._

"_No!" Squall shouted, time seeming to lunge back into motion as Quistis grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards Zone and Watts, under the aerial. Seifer raised the gold thing in the air and all at once everything went blurry; heat everywhere, along with smoke, fire…..and the dark…Squall tried to raise his hands and defend himself, to shout, to scream, even to cry, but nothing...only the dark..._

_Squall heard Zone and Watts struggling under his and Quistis' weight, Watts' frightened squealing as the sound of Seifer's footsteps grew louder, and Zone cursing as his thundaga spell missed the aerial…_

_And then, after a brief buzzing sound filled the air, and the heat and smoke vanished, all was black. Squall's breathing was ragged as the smell of sea salt filled his nostrils, and he slowly succumbed to alluring presence of the impending darkness._


	2. Barriers

**Barriers.**

Squall's eyes snapped open. He was lying on the floor, his legs folded under himself, and his head sore. Slowly sitting up he put a hand to his head, where he found his hair was damp; blood was gushing from a wound that he must have received when his head hit the floor.

He screwed his eyes up as the pain finally hit him; a stabbing sensation that ripped through his skull and his brain. He felt himself swaying again where he sat, and he raised his hand to his wound once more to steady himself. He winced as his hand came into contact with the open cut, and he suddenly became painfully aware of the room spinning around him.

A cold feeling flitted over Squall's head. The pain stopped and was replaced by an odd, but comforting, coldness. At first, Squall thought that somehow Shiva was helping his wound heal, but then he remembered that he hadn't junctioned any GF that day. He pulled his hand away, to find it shimmering slightly; a purplish cloud seemed to be hovering around his hand, and when he placed it back to his wound the cold feeling came again.

And then, everything stopped. The pain, the cold, the cloud; everything. When he pulled his hand away again, he found nothing. No blood. No cut.

Puzzled, Squall stood. His balance stayed with him, and he felt fine in every way.

But then he didn't feel fine. Before him, Rinoa's body lay motionless, and all the emotional hurt and pain that he had felt before came back to him. The room had stopped spinning, but the brunette felt like the floor of the mortuary was opening up beneath him, sucking him under the very crust of the earth, the pit of his despair claiming him body as it already had done his soul.

Once more, he looked into his lover's face. He focused particularly on her eyes, which he swore had contained a small glimmer last time he looked. But alas, all he saw when he looked into her dark, empty eyes, was his own reflection staring back at him; the only glimmer to be found coming from his eyes, and not Rinoa's.

With one last sigh, Squall pressed a short kiss to Rinoa's forehead, before he turned to leave the morgue. He stopped before the door, and silently bowed his head as he prayed to anyone who could be listening for Rinoa. And for himself.

Collecting his thoughts, and ensuring that his eyes were devoid of all evidence of crying by using his gunblade as a mirror, Squall left the small room and found himself in the main reception area of the infirmary.

Zell sat beside Zone, who was badly burned on one side of his face. The Forest Owl seemed subdued and was staring intently at a single tile on the floor, but something told Squall that he wasn't seeing the tile, lost in his thoughts, he had become numb to the real world, a feeling he empathised with all too well.

Watts couldn't be seen, but Squall knew he was nearby his occasional screams. It would have been comedic if his first love wasn't lying dead just a room away.

"AHHHHHHHH! THAT HURTS SIR!!"

"Who are you calling sir? And quieten down all you'll disturb the other patients!" Dr Kadowaki replied.

Sitting down beside Zell, Squall asked how Quistis was; not entirely interested, not completely serious, only wishing to try and think of something else other than Rinoa's blank, void face.

"Not good." Zell replied. Red lines streaked his face, where tears had earlier cut a path "She's stable but the doc doesn't know if she'll see or walk again. Her potions will only do so much; if Quistis doesn't get strong quickly enough, this could kill her"



Squall felt his mood get even lower. Zell had placed his face in his hands, and for a second, Squall wanted to rub his friends back, and reassure him that everything would be okay. But without Rinoa, what was the point? He had got close to someone again, and once again, they had left him. Every time he let someone in, every time he let down his armour, he got hurt. Everything wouldn't be okay. Rinoa was gone. Squall wouldn't be the same.

And then Dr Kadowaki appeared.

"Bad news" she said solemnly "Selphie and Irvine can't make it back from Trabia. A major snowstorm's struck, they don't know if they'll get out of there within the next week." Zell's head sunk even more; Squall knew he must be missing Selphie. The two of them had been practically inseparable the past few weeks.

"But Selphie gave me this message for you." She continued "Zell! You better not be moping around! You know what Squall's like, you need to be there for him! And Squall, don't be a prick and shut Zell out; he's your friend and so are we; we'll help you through this, you'll see! And Quistis…" The doctor laughed "You better wake the fuck up, before I swim back from here and MAKE you!"

Zell giggled slightly. He looked round at Squall, eyes puffy and red, but was met only with a blank expression. He doubted Squall had even heard the doctor. The scarred teen had taken on a pose that resembled Zone's; unseeing staring at a unknowable point in his reveries.

"Thanks, doc" he said.

"Thanks" Squall said absently.

The doctor shook her head slightly; she knew what Squall was like. Zell looked at her apologetically, and she walked back towards the room where Watts had been screaming from. Zell sat up, and turned to Squall.

"So…" he began, but he managed nothing more. Squall just got up and walked out of the infirmary, leaving Zone completely oblivious even to his presence and Zell slightly angry. Squall had his wall up again; and with no Rinoa around to bring it back round, it would take some work to bring it back down.

And with Selphie in Irvine miles away in Trabia, and Quistis in a coma, Zell was slightly more depressed as he left the infirmary, with a fleeting look to the morgue, and another glance to Quistis' bed. It would be him worrying about Quistis. It would be him without anyone to talk to anymore. It would be up to him to bring Squall back.


	3. Making Peace

**Making Peace.**

For 2 days, no one in the Garden saw Squall. Zell tried as hard as he could, but he never got a chance to speak to his best friend. Squall didn't eat; he was never in the cafeteria. He didn't sleep; he was never in his dormitory. He didn't train; he was never in the training centre. He didn't attend his classes; all the gunblade students were found sunbathing in the quad when they should have been at Squall's lectures.

Zell had given up looking. He wandered aimlessly around Garden, alone, whenever he didn't have a class to take, and every few hours he visited the infirmary. The training centre posed no threat anymore, and now that the Garden was grounded around the Balamb coastline almost permanently, the Fire Cavern was more a Sauna than a blood bath these days.

Quistis was healing well. Her burns were no longer visible; a well placed Esuna from an eager magic using SeeD completely cleared them up, and Zell gave Kadowaki a hand at healing Quistis with the odd Curaga. It was only in the infirmary that Zell felt useful anymore; in his classes, he felt like he was merely filling time, stuttering and fumbling through his tutorials while his mind wandered over the breaking up of his friendships, and in Garden, he felt like nothing more than a student again, a wandering solitary soul in a sea of inner circles, gangs and card clubs. In the infirmary, he was helping. He could see the effects his actions were having; Quistis' breathing became less laboured and more fluid, her face looked less pained with every hour that passed, and every so often, she even moved her hand or her foot.

But Zell knew he was only running from what he really needed to do. He had to find Squall. Fast. He missed him.

"I miss you, Squall..." he confirmed to himself, and he hung his head as he grasped his eyes to stop the tears from falling.

-

The salty air woke him up. A small cut on his left nostril stung thanks to the painfully sharp wind he found himself sleeping in and looking around and could see nothing but sand and cliff for miles around. In his gloved hand, there was a bottle of Balamb sake, empty. Sitting up, he threw it into the rolling ocean that lapped at his knees.

Squall looked at himself. He had become a bum, turning his back on Garden and opting instead to make the proprietor of the Balamb Bar a very rich man. He ached all over; sleeping rough was one thing, but sleeping rough with no one beside you, like there had been up until a few days ago, was agonizing. Squall hated that he had become dependent again, and over the 2 days he had left Garden, he had grown to despise Rinoa for doing this to him. Despise; but always adore.

However, strangely enough, he thought of Zell a lot too. He missed him as well; he was always there, fighting at his side, cheering him up with his nonsensical jabbering or his useless pieces of information, or just listening to him whenever Rinoa got too much to handle. And again, he grew to despise Zell. Despise; but always love.

He laid his head in his hands, and for a second he thought he might cry. But nothing came. He was confused; how could he miss Zell, who was only a few miles away, more than he missed Rinoa, who was dead and was never coming back; who he would never see again.

He stood up. Still confused, but moreover angry with himself, he looked towards Garden. Away in the distance, five miles or so down the coast, the long spire at the rear of Garden rose high into the sky, and Squall's heart leapt as his eyes traced the magnificent structure with his eyes, they towering monolith piercing the veil of night.

A surge of emotion came to him. Pain, anger, confusion, frustration, grief, love and hope; he buckled under the weight of all these feelings. He fell once more, to his knees, and the tears he cried came freely. He didn't need to force them and he didn't need to hold them back. He just cried. His head hurt, his nose stung, his eyes were blurred and he found himself struggling to walk; because of the wind or because of the sake, he didn't know, or care.

He missed Rinoa, he loved Rinoa. He missed Zell, he loved Zell. He despised them both for making him dependent on them, but he loved them even more for being dependent on him. His mind reeled with conflicting and simultaneous memories; fighting through Dollet with only an energised blond by his side, dancing under a star streaked sky with a beautiful brunette, being dragged from a torture safety by a tattooed teen, swimming through space in hot pursuit of a magical woman. Images, sounds, smells, emotions; flitting through his mind and his heart.

Suddenly, more emotions came to Squall, fusing with his own; a familiar yet unfamiliar purple haze seemed to consume Squall has he felt the weight of worlds rise and fall atop his shoulders, the ground and sea beneath moving at tremendous speed as the wind seemed to howl louder and the world seemed to shrink from beneath him...

"I miss you Squall..." Zell's voice penetrated his own black abyss, and told him what he longed to hear. He missed Squall; just as much as he missed him. Squall's stung even more as he felt like he was sharing his tears with another, his burden doubled as he felt another's pain.

And then, like a hook pulling a fish from the sea, Squall was lifted from his abyss by Zell's words. His feelings left him; he was no longer angry or confused. Looking around, he expected to see his best friend waiting on him, but was disappointed when only the sea, the moon and the stars met his gaze.

"It was definitely his voice…." Squall thought to himself.

But he still wasn't confused. Somehow, he knew that it was Zell's thoughts he had heard. He knew he had to go back; to go back to Garden, to Rinoa. To Zell. To confront his past, his present, his future.

The life of a bum offered nothing in the way of solace.

Picking up and shouldering his gunblade, Squall made for Garden. Bite Bugs and Catcherpillars and T-Rexaurs and Gaylas came at him, and all were felled. Some mutated strains of bombs and geezards ambushed him along the way, the fastichalcons rising randomly and vicious from the sand, all to meet their doom at the end of Squall's blade. A surge of strength had risen within Squall, a higher force had taken hold of his body as his emotions fuelled his quick pace. It was the strength of sorcerers; it was the strength of lovers.

Once the entire Garden was in sight, Squall smiled. He knew that when he got there, he would find Zell and he would have to apologise. He knew that when he got there, he would have to bury Rinoa, but he was confident knowing that he would deal with his grief; Rinoa's death had made him stronger, like Rinoa's life had.

And while he thought about this, he felt something press his heart, forcefully enough to be prominent, but gently enough to be tender and loving, and the image of Rinoa smiling flitted across his eyes. He reached out his hand, trying to touch her face, but she just giggled, and turning away, she disappeared.

The scarred SeeD 1st Class shook his head violently, the effects of the sake obviously not having wore off completely.

A lone tear slid down Squall's cheek. And then he carried on.


	4. Ultimatum

**Ultimatum.**

A black hole had somehow managed to encase him. His arms were surrounded by some flowing, black shadow, restricting, yet not binding, and solid, yet liquid. He could flex his fingers and wiggle his wrist, but he could pull his hand out of the substance. Similarly, his feet were dragged into the liquid by the same magnetic pull.

His neck wore another bond of the substance, and this allowed for no movement at all. What he saw, he saw only by moving his eyes, not his head. The purple tinge that the black swirling mass seemed to take on every so often scared him but at the same time enthralled him, but as the mass started to writhe faster than it had previously, the purple slivers began to grow, and join, and change colour, until before him stood some kind of living screen; and what he saw 6n teh screen, he did not like.

Far in the distance, what seemed like miles away, yet somehow clearly visible, a battle raged.

Six teenagers, 4 of whom familiar yet strange, had drawn their weapons against a foe far beyond the power of any they had before encountered. Long flowing hair hid his head and back from view, and hid a long silver blade from his 6 assailants.

One after the other, they dived forward, weapons drawn. Guns, swords, shinobou, rods; all of them were felled before the might of the silver villain's blade.

As much as he had screamed, no one noticed. Zell's tears fell fast and easily as he still stood, rooted to the spot, unable to help the people he was sure he knew, but couldn't place…

A knock on his dormitory door jolted Zell out of his dream. The liquid shadow of his nightmare was replaced by the hollow shadow of night. A red digital clock in the corner told him it was 2am; he'd only been asleep thirty minutes, having spent the night at Quistis' side and talking aloud to her about Squall.

Stumbling out of bed, Zell didn't even bother putting on trousers; he made to the door in just his tight black boxers and tight black tanktop. The knock came again as he reached the kitchen.

"I'm coming!" he yelled.

Fumbling with the key that he picked up off the kitchen worktop, Zell took some time to find the keyhole; his eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, which was odd since he had been surrounded by it in his dream and had seen so perfectly…

But by the time the door was open, all memory of the dream was driven from Zell's mind.

Squall, dirty, cut and sweating, but smiling, just about smiling, greeted Zell when the blond looked up to face him.

"Can I come in?" Squall asked, awkwardly. A blush came to his cheeks as he surveyed Zell, but he didn't say another word.

"Uh," Zell stuttered, slightly taken aback by his best friend's appearance.

"That'll be a no then…" Squall said, quite downheartedly, and he turned to walk away.

"N-no!" Zell jumped, running around to face Squall and stop him getting any further away "Go in, go in!"

Squall leaned in to whisper into his friend's ear.



"I think you better go in first" he started "those girls over there are getting an eyeful of you in your boxers."

Zell jumped, and flashing bright red, bolted back into the safe darkness that was his living room.

Laughing quietly, Squall nodded curtly in the direction of the three SeeDs who were returning from the Training Centre, and followed Zell into his dorm, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Well I supposed I need to explain where I've been…" Squall began, but Zell shut him up.

"In a while, you need to get cleaned up. That cut on your head looks nasty."

Zell had erupted from the toilet carrying every bag, box and basket of healing potions, antidotes and magicks he could find. He sat them all down by his bed and ordered Squall to lie down.

"Zell, I'm okay"

"Lie down." Zell ordered again, in a way much more authoritative and commanding than Squall ever expected Zell capable of. He lay down silently, resigned to the fact that Zell was cleaning him up.

And a bit of him liked that.

Whenever Squall tried to speak, Zell shut him up. He was furiously cleaning Squall's wounds and pouring potion into his cuts; he seemed as if possessed to Squall. He'd never seen his blonde haired friend so focused, so intense, so…

Before Zell had finished cleaning a particularly nasty gash on Squall's neck, Xu's voice came loudly over the speakerphone, sounding panicked and urgent.

"ZELL! Get up to the bridge now! We've got big problems! Repeat…"

Zell groaned and hurriedly wiped the last of the cut.

"Let's go" he said, rushing back to his bedroom to get dressed. "I'll only be a minute"

Squall sighed, slightly downhearted at Xu's announcement. He had wanted to spend some time alone with Zell, to explain, and to reveal…

He lay back on the bed, one hand over the scar on his forehead, the other lying across his belly. He closed his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh. Thoughts of Rinoa rushed through his mind, and with a pang of regret, he didn't feel as empty as he thought he should with her loss; he was with Zell, and he felt better. But strangely, he sensed that Rinoa wouldn't mind. Another sigh.

"Ready?" Zell asked, appearing at his bedroom door wearing a white t-shirt under an open black shirt, with jeans and white trainers.

Squall was taken aback. His hair hung in bangs down his face, it had definitely grown longer. It hugged his neck loosely and the top half of his ears was hidden behind his growing mane.

"Well?"

Squall started. He snapped himself out of his thoughts and stood up.

"C'mon."



Zell lead the way out of the dormitory's, and Squall was thankful that he had taken point. He has red, flustered…his cheeks were heated and his breathing was heavy.

Zell had never looked so...'mature', he tried to tell himself.

Xu was pacing the old Headmaster's office, a strained look on her face and her movements were erratic, quick and messy. She clumsily tripped over table legs and rugs, and never even noticed Squall and Zell walk in.

They had been exceptionally quiet in the elevator; Squall just stared at the back of Zell's head, but his blond haired companion had looked intently forward, focused on the elevator door. Squall was unsure of whether he was pissed off at Squall, or whether he was upset, or something completely different.

The truth was, Zell was worried by how happy he had been to see Squall at his door, and equally confused about his immediate nursing. Could it be that he...liked? Squall?

_No,_ he told himself _He's just lost Rinoa…You were just happy to see him because you had thought he'd done something stupid…_

Xu finally noticed Squall and Zell, just after saving herself from colliding with the marble floor by performing a cartwheel when she tripped over the lift to the bridge fence.

"Squall! You're back!" Her face was a mixture of uncertainty, shock, and happiness, but the severity of the situation snapped her face back to its usual stoic expression "Upstairs, the G-Army have sent an ultimatum on the screen…." She sighed slightly "…and Seifer's the one who sent it…"

Zell and Squall started.

"But we beat Ultimecia…" Zell started.

"We broke her spell over him…." Squall continued.

"Well it would seem that he wasn't under a spell at all…just go and look."

She nodded to the lift up to the bridge, and Squall and Zell went up, nodding at Xu when they passed her.

"Looks like we've got problems…." Zell whispered. Squall grasped his shoulder in a "we'll be okay" kind of way, and Zell drew strength from his touch as the bridge, and the screen, came into view.

A leering Seifer greeted Squall and Zell as they stumbled out of the elevator and onto the bridge proper. The small platform had only a desk, the helm and a newly installed telecom monitor, the light from the monitor casting an eerie glow over the otherwise dark bridge.

The glass ceiling and walls revealed it was the dead of night outside; no stars illuminated the night, and somewhere in the distance the faint outline of a sleeping Balamb was in view, the only light there presumably coming from the nightclub "Gayla".

"Greetings commander!" Seifer cheerily chimed "I hope that the time difference between yourself and Glabadia isn't too much of an inconvenience" he sniggered "And chicken-wuss….I don't see why you're here if your leader's back"

"He's here because I want him here" Squall retorted shortly. His left hand was curled into a fist while his right grabbed his hip. He didn't look in the mood for any of Seifer's games, and Zell was slightly afraid of what could be coming next from either of the scarred teens.



"Aww. Well I suppose that's sweet enough…" Seifer replied. He went out of view for a few seconds, and then returned to the screen with a gold band around his hand. "Do you know what this is, Mr Leader?"

Squall studied the band closely. Intricate bronze markings were engraved all the way round, but he could see no words or pictures, only designs.

"No" he replied.

"Well," Seifer continued, smiling maliciously, his eyes taking on a strange twinkle "This is the only know artefact to remain from the time of the Great Hyne. It is called 'Hyne's Crown' because it was found atop one of the statues in his newly discovered tomb."

Squall was intrigued; he had heard that Galbadia had conducted a massive dig just to the east of Galbadia Garden, resulting in much of the Garden becoming inaccessible by civilians to accommodate for the large G-Army's archaeological team. The findings of the dig had never been publicised, but some SeeDs who had been deployed in galbadia said that one day the army was all over the place, and then they had vanished, leaving a huge hole behind the Garden, with no trace of man, beast, or artefact.

"The tomb itself is actually the very first airship" he continued "and has since become the Galbadian Army's mobile base." He began to snigger quite evilly; he spun the band around to reveal a huge opulent ruby encrusted in the centre of the bronze markings. Squall became dizzy, faint, and felt as though somehow, all life was draining from him. "And this little beauty just so happens to be the key to all magic on Gaia; this ruby was initially twelve times greater, or so we think, and we believe that it was shattered and distributed equally among the ten original sorceress' and the sole sorcerer."

Zell walked forward so as to stand beside Squall, himself reeling slightly from the strange light the ruby seemed to emanate, though not to such a degree as Squall; the scarred Garden Commander was holding his head with a look of agony gracing his features, his legs trembling and his brow furrowed and sweating.

"This ruby is the most powerful weapon ever held by a man. If Timber wasn't testament enough to it's potential, then please, let Galbadia Garden strengthen my argument."

He laughed cruelly as he let the crown fall down his arm, and latch onto his triceps. He put his hand to his head and closed his eyes, obviously focusing intently on something.

And then something happened. The monitor lost contact with Seifer, and stood blank before Squall and Zell as they waited for some climatic action which didn't seem to be coming. With the disconnection of the monitor, Squall seemed to recover quite quickly, his trembling stopped and he no longer wore a pained expression; his breathing however, was still shallow. The two friends surveyed the entire domain visible before the bridge; nothing. Not until...

Far to the east, Squall and Zell could see from the bridge a huge tower of light; a massive spire protruded straight from the ground itself and tore into the sky, obviously obliterating everything in its path; the sky itself seemed to open up to let the monolith through, while accompanying the light a horrifying howl filled their, and the rest of Gaia's, ears. While unsure, Squall believed that the spire now stood where Galbadia Garden had once been. The light shone brighter than the sun, and for a few moments, the whole planet was bathed in a light akin to daybreak; until just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared.

"My demands." Seifer began again, as the monitor jutted back to life as the light disappeared. "All those who faught Ultimecia are to come to Glabadia at once. Get to the site of Galbadia Garden within a week and Balamb may be spared. If you do not comply, we will have no option but to exert our militant; and magical, prowess over your Garden and your country." He smiled evilly. "I look forward to seeing the six of you again."

"Four of us" Squall spoke up "You'll see four of us, Rinoa and Quistis are dead."



For a moment, Seifer seemed dumbstruck. His grin vanished and his eyes hardened, his expression softened, and for a moment it looked like he was in shock. But he quickly shook himself out of it.

"Well then, it would seem the assault on Timber was not a complete waste of time. Til next week then, Commander." He turned to walk off shot, but then turned back "And chicken wuss" He laughed as he left the shot and the screen was once again black.

For minutes, Squall and Zell sat in quiet on the bridge. Zell merely looked out to where Galbadia Garden surely lay in ruin, while Squall had his eyes closed, concentrating intently on the situation at hand.

He looked around at Zell, and his heart leapt. Not since they had travelled to the future had he seen Zell look so worried, but at the same time, a strange sort of strength emanated from him.

"We'll be okay" he told Squall "We can fight together, and we'll be okay. Selphie and Irvine will help us too." He faced the older teen. "We can take Seifer. We took Ultimecia, he'll be no hassle."

Squall smiled.

"I know."

He let his hand unclench from the fist that he had made at the beginning of their encounter with Seifer.

And silently, out of sight of Zell, a single white feather fluttered up from Squall's open hand to his eyeline, before disappearing quite suddenly, as if to reassure Squall that he was not alone.

"We'll call Selph and Irvy tomorrow. We need to sleep now, and we'll talk about all this when the four of us are together agiain."

Squall nodded, and the silently left the bridge, to an anxious Xu who seemed oblivious to the fact that Balamb Garden's greatest ally had just been wiped out in one fell blow.


	5. SeeD Orders

**SeeD Mission.**

A distressed Martine had contacted Balamb Garden not an hour after the destruction of its Galbadian counterpart. Having been reinstated as Headmaster after the fall of Ultimecia, it seemed that only he, three instructor's and a handful of students had survived the cataclysmic power that Seifer had exerted over his beloved school; and had only done so thanks to the fact they were on a field trip in the forest to the west of the Garden.

Xu had spoken with him. Squall and Zell, having never cared for the man, insisted that Xu handle the situation, and decided instead to retire to their dormitories and sleep. The atmosphere was heavy and prominent as the pair walked back to the dormitories, a subdued silence quietening them both to only the odd cough or sniffle. Neither spoke. Neither looked at the other. Squall squinted in the direction of his blond companion every now and then, the shorter teen having donned a mournful expression, his cheeks red and his eyes watering, confronting his life-long rival had obviously unnerved him.

"See you in the morning" Squall said, with a faint smile, both their dorms being just across the halls from each other.

"Night" Zell replied. His arms made a kind of twitching motion as he smiled too, as if he wanted to hold something….

The night was spent silently and peacefully. No dreams disturbed Zell, and he welcomed the complete rest that he hadn't been able to obtain in Squall's absence. Squall on the other hand, had many dreams; of flower fields, of feathers, of rings and promises.

Xu woke them both at six am, sharp. She was dressed immaculately in her SeeD uniform, her most prized possession, and she told them both to meet her at the front gate in ten minutes. Her authoritative manner was annoying to Squall; she was a good friend and an excellent instructor, but her air of self importance sometimes grated on him. He was commander of the Garden, and sometimes he regretted having made Xu head of Teaching.

Zell and Squall met each other at the cafeteria just before they headed to the front gate, and had barely enough time to wolf down some cereal (or in Zell's case, a hotdog) before they had to run to the front gate and meet their impatient colleague.

"Martine contacted Caraway last night" Xu began "before he called us."

Squall started; Martine and Caraway had always stayed out of each other's affairs as much as possible. The overrunning of G-Garden by the G-Army had done nothing for the pairs already non-existent relationship, and Squall was confused as to why the two would collaborate.

Zell found this odd as well; the Headmaster of Galbadia Garden contacting an ex-general of the organisation that decimated his livelihood and home. Strange.

"Apparently Caraway had been keeping a close eye on Seifer ever since he showed up in Galbadia again just after you defeated Ultimecia. He hired a mercenary to gather information on the G-Army's activities, on Seifer's state of mind, and of his motive for the dig behind Galbadia Garden."

"So that explains why Martine contacted him first then; he must have known about it." Squall said, nodding slightly. Zell sat down on the low wall while he let his two, more intelligent friends discuss the finer points of the situation. All he needed to know was that where Squall went, he went.

"Yes. The mercenary was actually a graduate of G-Garden, and Martine had recommended him to Caraway. Anyway..." she continued, sitting beside Zell on the wall "Caraway knew what Seifer had found on his dig, but thanks to his swift retreat to the skies on Hyne's Airship, his mercenary wasn't able to find out anything other than Seifer was taking orders from someone, a woman, and that they had found a gold crown which Seifer now takes with him everywhere."



"Seifer's taking orders? Who from?" Zell asked. "And who's the mercenary Caraway hired?"

"The mercenary is a guy called Aeon, apparently. Martine recruited him to the Garden when he was 14, after seeing him street fight in Deling City with a rival street gang. He's 17 or so now, the only person ever to take less than 4 years to graduate from Galbadia. And as for this woman…." Xu shook her head "…we have nothing to go on other than she has a strong accent, and that she's quite young."

Squall and Zell contemplated for a moment, while Xu fumbled in her pocket for something.

"An accent….?" Zell thought.

"Yes. But he didn't say what kind of accent. Ah, here it's…" Xu pulled a bronze badge out of her pocket. It was adorned with small gems and emeralds, purple, green and red "…this is a brooch that Caraway sent through shortly after you went to your dorms last night. He says if you get to Deling City wearing this, his mercenary will recognise you and take you to him."

Squall grunted. Caraway had already taken control, a feeling that he should've been used to now he was a SeeD, but he didn't like it. He appreciated that Caraway was going to be invaluable to them fighting Seifer if it came to it, but giving up command of the situation to the father of his dead lover...

"So Caraway has a plan then?" Zell asked, snapping Squall out of his musings "I mean, he must want us for something."

"Well, he knows that Seifer is looking for you two, Selphie and Irvine. By the way, he sent a small Cruiser airship to Trabia to pick them up; they should be half way back to Deling by now."

Squall grunted again. Caraway had even taken command of Selphie and Irvine; who Squall would rather had stayed out of this for as long as possible.

"So, Squall..." Xu continued. "It looks like Caraway while hire you if you go and meet him. I said you would, but since your commander, you can pull out if you…"

"We're going. If he's already got Selphie and Irvine on their way, he must need everyone as quickly as possible."

Zell stood up. He punched the air, limbering himself up, while Xu stood too and nodded.

"Okay then. Do you want us to take the Garden?"

"No. I don't want anyone to know that we're gone, and I don't want anyone outside us three, Selphie and Irvine involved. We'll get a train from Balamb"

"To where?" Zell asked "Timber isn't there anymore, Squall…"

"We'll just have to tell the driver to go all the way Galbadia, instead of Dollet. We can pay him whatever he wants."

Zell looked a bit uncertain at this; to be honest, he didn't want his mother seeing him in Balamb, she would only worry. His nerves must have shown, as Squall gave another uncharacteristic smile, and an even more uncharacteristic squeeze on the shoulder. _It'll be alright, Zell._

Zell smiled broadly and lost himself in his thoughts for a moment_. Again! That's twice in two days!_

"Well guys, off you go. Caraway wants you there ASAP." Xu said "And remember to put that brooch on in Deling City." Zell inwardly cursed Xu; a perfectly good moment. Ruined.



Squall and Xu performed the SeeD salute, while the blond started walking in the direction of Balamb.

"Bye Xu, see ya later!" he shouted over his back, while he tightened his gloves, his teeth grit hard.

"You know my number if anything happens" Xu told Squall as he turned away.

"You too." He replied.

And so, drawing his Leaonheart, Squall ran after Zell, ready to take on any monsters that would dare to cross their path.


	6. Mixed Feelings

**Mixed Feelings.**

The empty train trundled into the transcontinental tunnel. The only light left on board was purely artificial; a glance out of the window would be met only with stone walls and silver tracks, the odd glass plate in the tunnel offering a temporary visage of beautiful rainbow coloured fish, just as colourful aquatic monsters, and an array of different coloured seaweed, all on the backdrop of a turquoise sea.

The sounds were both disconcerting and comforting, the clicking of the train wheels against the steel of the tracks as it thundered at high speed through the tunnel, merging with the sound of the rolling tides through the masonry overhead, the occasional shrieking of an angry fiend or mellowing songs of a passing whale.

Zell slept silently on the bottom bunk as Squall tossed and turned on the top. It had taken all of his powers of persuasion to get the driver to go all the way to Deling City; with Timber destroyed, the tracks through the destroyed city were unpredictable, with any number of fallen buildings possibly blocking the way altogether, or worse still, any terrible monsters the Galbadians had left behind in their wake preventing further passage forward.

Squall couldn't understand why he was so uneasy. He was tired; numerous battles between the Garden and Balamb had left him burnt, scratched and weakened; that was the problem with being at such a high level, the monsters who attacked were just as powerful, if not more so. And it had seemed that after the lunar cry, the monsters even as far as Balamb had evolved to more grotesque forms. Even the lionheart was bearing scars, marks along it's perfectly crafted edge told Squall that it would need remodelling soon, a realisation he regretted making.

Zell hadn't suffered as much as Squall. Whenever possible the brunette had defended his blonde companion, taking many blows in place of his friend. Both teens were surprised by this action; never before had Squall felt compelled to protect his companions, feeling they were more than capable of defending themselves. And Zell had never seen Squall so determined, so fierce, so protective…

The scarred teen decided that lying in bed was getting him nowhere. He climbed slowly and quietly, not wanting to disturb his sleeping friend. When his feet touched the floor, he chanced a look at Zell as he slept. The sight made his heart flutter. Zell's well defined physique was visible from the torso up, his strong abs and well formed pecs, his slender neck and face, accentuated by his tribal tattoo which seemed that much more endearing in the dark…

Squall had to force himself to walk away. His boxers had grown considerably tighter around his hips and waist, and if he fed the voyeuristic side of himself anymore, it threatened to become too much to bear….

He lay on the settee and picked up a magazine, which instantly reminded him of Rinoa.

_Pets Pals, Vol. 7_

Angelo's face graced the cover; Rinoa had agreed to let her model for the magazine only two weeks before, sending her to Esthar on the premise that Laguna keep her safe and well. The dog looked incredibly happy, however, Squall doubted the dog still looked as cheerful; the bond she had shared with her owner was phenomenal, and he hadn't been surprised when Laguna had told them all that Angelo had gone berserk around the time Timber was compromised; Rinoa's pain had obviously projected itself to the dog.

A pang of guilt tore through Squall, worse than the pain of any blade, fang, bullet or claw. Forced to think of Rinoa, he felt disgusted with himself as he looked at the bulge in his boxers; and yet he looked once more in the direction of Zell and the pain was instantly eased; not gone, but not as prominent.

Placing the magazine again on the table, Squall covered his eyes with his left arm, letting his right fall comfortably across his belly as he lay back and embraced the feelings that washed over him.



Silent tears began to stain Squall's cheeks.

Zell hazily opened his eyes, awakened by the sound of rustling nearby. He lay comfortably in silence, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness while his body slowly shifted itself out of sleep.

But then he became aware of the figure lying across the sofa. He willed himself out of sleep as he tried to focus on Squall; what was he doing?

He sat up slightly in his bed, and with a look of confusion drawing across his face

"Squall?"

The brunette started. His arm flew off his eyes and his head turned to face the blonde. Red eyes greeted Zell's baby blue, visible even in the dark, and after mere seconds Squall sat up right and tried to regain his composure.

"What's wrong?" Zell asked, getting out of bed and making his way towards Squall.

"Nothing…" Squall tried to lie, but he inadvertently looked at the magazine that lay on the table. Zell followed his friend's eye line, and at the sight of Angelo immediately knew what was wrong.

"Do you want to talk?"

Squall shook his head furiously. The reaction Zell had expected.

"Are you sure? I'm sure you'll feel better."

Squall slowly looked up at Zell. He thought for a moment; about how much he thought about Zell, about how much he missed Rinoa, about how hard Zell had just made him….

And then he nodded.

"I'm just…..lost" he said. "I feel okay one minute and then the next I'm lost…."

He buried his head in his hands as Zell sat beside him, his hand rubbing the brunette's back.

"It's understandable Squall. It's normal." He said. "You miss her, right?"

Squall shook his head. "It's not that. Well it is… but it isn't….." Zell screwed his eyes up. "Of course I miss her, but I've come to terms with losing her. I just feel like I'm betraying her…."

"Betraying her? How are you betraying her?"

Squall shook his head again. "I think…I'm over her."

Zell frowned. "Over her?"

"I don't love her. Well…I love her….but someone else…."

"You like someone new?" Zell asked, slightly downheartedly.

"Yes…But That's wrong of me….I miss Rinoa but I want someone else…."

Zell nodded, and stopped rubbing his friend's back, instead picking up the magazine.



"Listen…." He began, not really sure what to say. "I'm sure Rinoa would want you to be happy; no matter what. I don't think she'd mind you being over her, so long as you still love her….even if you love someone else as well."

Squall thought about this. He turned his head and looked at Zell; the blonde hair, the tattoo, the eyes, the lips…the guilt crept further up his spine, but the lust spread across his belly and his groin.

"So do you think….If I was happy….Rinoa wouldn't mind?"

Zell nodded. "Absolutely. And to be honest, we all want you to be happy, too."

The brunette teen smiled and wiped his eyes. He stood as the butterflies fluttering in his belly began to flap their wings with disgusting strength and speed, his lust heightening and the visible attributes of such lust, even more so. He found his trousers by his bed and pulled them on, the better to hide his excitement, as Zell hugged him from behind.

"We're your friends Squall. Open up to us whenever you want; Rinoa wanted you to. We all want you to..."

Too soon, Squall felt, the blond had withdrew his hands and busied himself getting dressed.

"You don't need to get dressed yet Zell..." Squall said, his voice cracking slightly. Zell could have misconstrued his meaning...or construed it correctly... "I'm only going for a walk for a bit, it's still early."

Zell looked at his watch. Eight am.

"Well looks like it's an early start then, don't it"

The butterflies flapped more violently as the blond flashed Squall a short smile before concerning himself once more with dressing. Squall cursed his cowardice silently; all he wanted, more than anything, was Zell to stay undressed...

"_Mr SeeD!" _The voice of the driver came over an intercom _"Looks like we're gonna run into trouble in Timber after all, if you wanna get to Deling, get your butt up front."_

The two SeeDs looked at one another; the playful exchanging of flirtatious smiles and butterflies would have to hold off for now. They both dressed quickly, and Squall grabbed his lionheart as Zell tightened the straps on his gloves.

The two shared an awkward smiles and rushed out of their cabin, the corridor, flooded with light, forcing the two to gives their eyes time to adjust.

As soon as they could bear the force of all out sunlight, they were off, towards the engine room, and the driver.


	7. Assault

**Assault.**

The driver nodded ahead when Squall asked him what was wrong.

"It's just sitting there..." was all he said. The train had stopped, and the driver was obviously rooted to the spot with fear. Ahead a three headed dog lay in waiting, not advancing towards the train, but barring its passage through the ruins of Timber at its back. Three sets of sharp teeth dripped with saliva as the monster eyed the train cautiously. No, maniacly.

The white of its eyes were bloodshot and swollen, the pupils, dilated. It's skin, normally a purplish, fleshy colour, was cracking, taking on a grey lustre that made it look old, unhealthy, insane. Squall squinted slightly, hardly believing his eyes. It definitely was him, but something was off...

"Cerberus...?" Zell asked, a note of fear creeping into his voice. He had folded his arms and was glaring in the direction of their adversary, confused because he knew he had junctioned Cerberus just a moment ago.

"Cerberus." Squall stated. There was no doubting it, the three headed guardian of hell was before them. His mind was in overdrive as he tried to fathom what their ally was doing facing them, in such an aggressive pose. "Zell, try summoning Cerberus."

The blond loosened up a little as he nodded, bouncing slightly on the spot as he did in battle. Squall smiled ever so slightly, before the severity of the situation crashed his thoughts back to earth. Zell lifted his hand to his forehead, his face contorting in concentration. Muttering something under his breath, he pushed his hand forward. Nothing happened. No mana glow that usually came with summoning. No invincibility that usually came whilst summoning. "He's...He's not there!" Zell exclaimed.

Squall frowned. He knew that if Zell couldn't feel Cerberus in his head, that it was clearly Cerberus in their way. HE took a deep breath and tightened one of his belts, so that the lionheart was closer at hand. "Well...All we can do is...Go outside..."

He glanced at Zell, who nodded, but the blond was clearly apprehensive. Would he have to fight his own GF? He patted his blond friend on the back, and mustered the most compassionate smile that Zell thought the scarred teen had ever smiled. He smiled back.

The two ordered the driver back into one of the cabins, and let themselves off the train. Squall had lionheart in hand, and insisted on going before Zell. He walked forward cautiously and deliberately made his weapon visible to the GF, though he didn't adopt a fighting stance. Zell stayed closer to the train than Cerberus, and tried to cast Protect.

Nothing.

"YOU MEAN TO PASS THROUGH, HUMAN. I MEAN TO STOP YOU!"

Cerberus' voice boomed, the wind kicking up sand and grit into the two SeeD's eyes; a quickly cast Protect spell on Squall's part let the grains bounce harmlessly back onto the ground before them to save either of them from being blinded.

"Cerberus; why do you want to stop us? You agreed to help us!" Squall asked, raising his sword into a more intimidating stance.

"I AM NOT A MERE TOOL FOR YOU TO USE AT WILL. I AM THE MIGHTY CERBERUS AND I WILL BAR YOUR PATH!"

The demon dog lunged forward, his teeth snapping as his clawed arms were deflected time and again by quick hits from Squall and his trusty lionheart. Not once did the monster target Zell. Again and again, his powerful arms thrust painfully sharp claws at Squall, who managed to deflect them, just, but was nonetheless taken aback by the fury of the assault.

"Cerberus!" Zell cried, as Squall was forced onto his back and his gunblade was tossed high into the air to land a few feet away, behind Cerberus. "No! Stop!"

"AND YOU..." Cerberus turned to face Zell, his eyes taking on a purplish tinge "...YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS MEANT FOR YOU. YOU NO LONGER DESERVE MY AID; NO LONGER HAVE IT!"

The hell hound howled, sending shivers up and down the blond's spine; louder and higher the other two heads joined in with their brother, a dissonant harmony reverberating around Zell's mind as he lost control of his senses and felt a part of himself be ripped apart. His eyes started watering and his ears popped; his nose bled and his mouth and throat dried up. He put his hands to his neck as he felt it constrict and found it harder to breathe. He managed to scream as he collapsed into a quivering wreck, but the hound didn't stop howling.

The scarred Squall had managed to creep around Cerberus as his three heads pointed upwards in their sickening chorus; the howl seemed not to have the same effect on Squall as it had on Zell, but he nonetheless felt sick as the cries of hell seeped from the dogs' throats. He stood slowly and quietly, not wanting to distract the GF, but just as he jumped high into the air, the middle head caught sight of the brunette and stopped howling just long enough to focus on swatting him back to earth with his magnificent tail.

A bone cracked somewhere under the force of the blow; writhing in pain Squall had once again lost the lionheart as it fell through the air; this time finding a more fortunate landing place as it landed square in Cerberus' back.

The howl of hell was replaced by a howl of agony.

All the heads tried to turn and see what had hit their back, and the collided, forcing more howling on each head's part, and as the heads became more confused, so too did the body; the tail flailed brutally but uncontrollably as the dog reared on its hind legs and started to claw at thin air; the heads collided again and the dog's cries heightened.

Squall took advantage of the situation and rushed to Zell's side. The blond was shaken up, but after a Cura spell he seemed to snap out of his stupor. He stood beside Squall, but still needed supporting; the scarred SeeD rested his blond friend against the side of the train (where Squall felt it necessary to hug his friend and say, reassuringly "don't worry" – Zell's face lit up), out of Cerberus' way, and turned his attention once again to his wounded opponent.

Cerberus was trying to reach round and un-hinge the lionheart from its back, but it's hands were too short, and it's claws were slashing it's own flesh. A mutated form of blood hit the ground in pools of red and purple, as the screams of Cerberus hit sickening heights.

Weaponless, and too cautious to get too close, Squall called for help.

His scar stung slightly as he reached the deepest recesses of his mind, but he was used to this pang. Shiva erupted from the earth in a beautiful icicle as Squall finished summoning his favourite of all, and she slowly began to wake from her icy slumber. Cerberus, oblivious to Shiva's appearance, did nothing but howl and scratch itself, the sword slowly sinking further into its back as it writhed and squirmed.

Squall went back to Zell's side as Shiva burst forth from her icy tomb, the shards gathering and floating around her, drawn like magnets as she began her dance of ice. The shards swarmed in the air like locusts, occasionally swiping at Cerberus, who by now realised that a new adversary had appeared, but who still could do nothing but writhe in pain and anger. Shiva moved slowly around her prey, the ground frosting over were she stepped. She glanced back towards Squall and Zell, catching the gunblade artist's eye. She smiled and nodded. Squall returned the gesture.

"NO...SHIVA, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND..."

"I understand, perfectly, Cerberus." came her short reply. Her voice was as icy as her touch, but an odd sort of warmth comforted both Squall and Zell. In Shiva, Squall had a formidable and unwavering ally.

The shards stopped circling and swarming and gathered just above Shiva's palm as she began to float slightly on the spot, the ground beneath her freezing over and hardening as she emanated cold and ice. The shards began to join together, and culminated, like a magnificent diamond, while Shiva's hands shot out at either side. The shards gathered before her, she shrieked as she let the full force of her magic outwards, and the magnificent diamond shattered on the ground, sending out in all directions a tremendous ice blast that contained Cerberus, the train, the lionheart, and Shiva.

Squall, protected from the Diamond Dust by some unexplainable link with the GF, held Zell close as he watched the Ice Goddess vanish and her ice fields retreat back to the spot she had appeared from. His scar twinged uncomfortably again as Shiva found herself back in his subconscious, but again, this was normal.

"_Thank you..._" he thought silently, as the last of the ice vanished and Squall found Cerberus, still breathing but injured, lying where Shiva had frozen him. All three sets of fangs were chattering, and every breath formed a brilliant cloud of frost as the dogs insides slowly froze over.

"SHIVA...SHE C-C-CANNOT...DEFEAT..."

Squall set Zell down again and cautiously approached the demon dog, who made no attempt to thwart his progress. Once he was close enough to touch the hound, Squall leaped high and forward and pulled the lionheart from the creatures back. He took advantage of his position and struck; blow after blow, his renzokuken hit Cerberus everywhere and everywhere, the sounds of blood splattering, steel on bone and the dog's howling coming together in a horrible dischord.

With one final swipe of his sword, Squall landed in front of Cerberus again.

The dog tried to speak, but instead blood poured from all three of it's mouths as it's body collapsed and it flopped to the ground, almost dead.

"H-H-HYNE..." and then it died. A purple mist left it's mouths, and the body began to decompose at a horrifically fast rate. Skin disappeared and bone thinned, the eyes melted in on themselves and the teeth all fell out and shattered.

In a few short moments, all that remained of the mighty hound was a thin, decrepit carcass. Squall easily beat them out of the way of the train tracks with the lionheart, sending the remains into the ruins of Timber; somehow he felt this was appropriate.

As he turned his back on Timber and walked back towards Zell and the train, he prayed silently to whatever higher power there was, regretting having to kill such a powerful ally, but not regretting easing Zell's suffering.

"Y...you killed a GF, Squall..." Zell said as he stood, his strength seeming to come back to him now. "I didn't know you could do that..."

"I didn't. Shiva did." He put his arm around Zell and helped him back aboard the train.

Thoughts flew through both their minds; why had Cerberus attacked? Why had Shiva unquestioningly fought an ally? Why had Cerberus said Hyne before his death...? Why had Cerberus been able to die?

The two found themselves back in their cabin as the driver started the engine again, and without a word, they undressed again and made their way back into their beds; no smiles. No glances. No butterflies.

Only confusion. And questions.


	8. A Visit From A Dead Sorceress

**A visit from a Dead Sorceress.**

Squall tossed and turned, just as he had all this morning. The train had been moving again for about thirty minutes and Zell's gentle breathing was all Squall was focused on; not the trundling of wheels on tracks, not the sound of birds overheard or monsters either side. Zell's breathing.

Cerberus plagued Squall's mind; the more time past, the more remorse he felt. GF's were their allies; why had Cerberus turned on him? Why had it turned on Zell? Why had he told Shiva she didn't understand? What was going on...?

He felt like he needed to talk but he didn't want to wake Zell; the blond had been affected by Cerberus' howl, another question that the gunblade artist needed answering. He wanted to call someone but he didn't know who; he'd only ever turned to Rinoa or Zell since Ultimecia had been defeated; Selphie and Irvine were too into each other to give helpful advice, though Squall knew that wasn't their fault. And Quistis...she had distanced herself from Squall ever so slightly since they had rediscovered their childhoods...another question he would have to get the answer to.

_Before it's too late..._ he thought, morbidly.

And then Rinoa was dead. He would never be able to turn to her for advice, she would never try to break down his walls or to get him to dance or to get him to enjoy himself again; he was free to be as cold and stoic as he wanted.

But he didn't want. He wanted Rinoa to save him from his thoughts, he wanted Zell to save him from his armours, his friends to save him from himself.

He closed his eyes, his head thumping and his eyes stinging. A sudden wave of emotion passed over his body, an urge to cry out in frustration, grief, sorrow...Rinoa filled his mind as Zell's breathing filled his ears and he curled up in the bed, begging the world silently to leave him alone. Just for a while...

-

Something snapped.

Squall was walking through a forest...or maybe it was jungle. Huge trees towered on either side of him, and some lemurs danced in the distance between two overly large Venus fly traps. A little up ahead was a thin woman with her back to him. Her hair blew out towards him in the breeze that swept through the woodland, her black locks almost entirely drowning the single strand of blond.

The scent of white musk perfume travelled along the gentle breeze and filled Squall's nostrils, quelling the humid smells of pomegranate, pineapple, roses, lavender and heat. Rinoa's favourite scent filled Squall's mind with conflicting emotions; his first love, first real kiss, their first battle, their first proper date...their first night of passion...

But then too, came the feelings of grief and guilt, the loss of Rinoa cracking his heart while his feelings for Zell simultaneously sent it soaring and sent it sinking.

_Zell..._

Rinoa smiled sadly, out of Squall's sight, and laughed quietly to herself. Her blue cape fanned out towards him. It revealed pale and slender legs, wearing black ankle boots on their feet. Squall's heart fluttered, it's beat picked up while his blood pumped faster round his body, so much so that he could hear his own pulse.

It pained him.

"How've you been, Squall?"

The sorceress turned to face him, her eyes aglow with happiness and her lips curled into a wide, beaming smile. Squall's heart skipped a beat as the first love he thought he had lost stood just footsteps ahead of him. She cocked her head to the side and eyed her lover playfully; he had missed that teasing way she had with him. He, too, smiled.

He made to move closer but...

"You can't come any closer...And my spell doesn't leave me much time..."

Squall put his leg back in check, fumbling with his jacket as he tried to think of what to say. All this time, all this heartbreak, angst, confusion, since Rinoa was taken from him, and all he could do was fidget.

'_Moron. You really are Laguna's son'_

"Squall. I'm here for a reason; I need to warn you, to make sure that what must happen happens, that destiny takes its course." She sighed. Squall wore a look of confusion and curiosity. She could tell words were failing him; he started grabbing his thigh, as if it had seized up, or something.

She decided she would get straight to the point; this wasn't a social call, however much they both wished it was. "Cerberus wasn't in his own mind."

The scarred teen eyed Rinoa, ever more curious, ever more confused. "Rinoa...we have to talk about this?"

Her smile faltered momentarily; she mouthed _I'm Sorry_ before she coughed and regained her composure. She still however_, _had a pained glint in her eye, a slight crack in her voice as she spoke; something of a blush. "Squall...before I..." she sniffed back a tear "I died" She breathed deeply, as if she were only just mourning her own passing "...I left you with something..."

Squall squinted. He wracked his brain. The last time he had seen Rinoa alive was before she had left for Timber that day...and she hadn't given him anything other than a kiss and a cuddle. His brow furrowed.

"No, not then" she said, seeming to sense his thoughts "When you came to visit me...in the morgue..."

He still stood and stared blankly. Rinoa had stopped pacing and now just stared intently at him, a lone tear falling down her cheek. It traced down her tender rosé cheek, the small glimpse of light trickling through the canopy of leaves above giving it an almost purple glow...

"My power, Squall...you were my knight when I was alive...And now that I'm dead, you are my heir..." She stared a little harder, and then held her palm out to him. There was nothing there, but she closed her eyes and a surge of light seemed to emanate quietly from her as a single white feather formed, floating silently above her open hand. "You can do anything Squall, if you put your mind to it. Anything you want to do can be done, if only you accept your power..."

Something snapped again. Another aroma filled the air now, and the winds seemed to pick; the lemurs from before dashed across a low branch behind Rinoa as she sighed deeply, as if in great pain.

"Sandalwood..." she said "...You have to go back now.

She blew the feather forward, another tear streaking down her check to bump into its predecessor. She smiled as it made its way to where Squall stood, dumbstruck and staring intently at Rinoa.

"I love you" she said, turning to walk away into the jungle. But she stopped midstep, and once again faced her knight, her 'heir'. "And it's okay to love someone else now that I'm gone..." she said, silently, tears coating her eyes...but solemnly. Seriously. Willingly. "And remember; what has to happen, has to happen."

She waved sadly as the feather got closer to Squall. He snapped out of his stupor and shook himself to his senses.

"I love you t—"

Rinoa laughed slightly as more tears fell from her eyes, until once more...

Something snapped.

-

Squall opened his eyes to find himself back in that bed, with Zell's breathing filling his ears and a headache pounding his brain. He blinked a few times, wondering if he had dreamt, or if Rinoa had really visited him. His recollection of the meeting was, however, like all dreams, fading fast. He remembered a jungle...or was it a forest...and Rinoa in the distance...or was she close...and her talking to him...or was it someone else...

He sat up and rubbed his head; there was no way he would sleep.

Again, he climbed quietly down the bunk bed, but this time, when he saw Zell, he let himself give in to his desires, and he gently caressed the blonds' cheek and neck. Squall smiled as Zell seemed to nuzzle his hand, a small smile gracing his features.

Regretfully, he pulled his hand back for fear of waking Zell. He sighed as he put his trousers on and left the room, wanting to look out of the corridor window for a while; all the time wondering what had woken him. Rinoa had distinctly said something about her power, and the morgue. And Cerberus had been mentioned.

Squall looked down at his hands, his lips pouting as he wondered what it all meant and what she had came to him for.

He closed his eyes, just as a single white feather blew past his face.

Making himself comfortable on the rail running alongside the corridor window, Squall stared out onto the plains of Galbadia, the ruins of Timber receding in the distance as the train thundered towards Deling City. It was still a while away yet.


	9. Deling City

**Deling City.**

_(Note: I changed a few things in the story up to here, hopefully for the better, and I'm trying not to be so quick with revealing things or so short in describing things. Any suggestions, please R&R____)_

Zell sleepily got out of bed as he rubbed his eyes and noticed the small beam of sunlight drifting into the room through the slightly ajar door. Looking into the top bunk, he found Squall missing, and after changing into his trousers, he followed the sun beam out into the corridor.

Beautiful. A glance to the right revealed in the distance, the high ragged mountains that circled Galbadia were disappearing into the sunset as the train entered Deling territory. Looking to the left, Zell could see the outskirt of Deling coming into view, and behind them, the Tomb of the Unknown King looming on the crystal clear water's edge. And dead ahead; Squall.

His forehead pressed against the window, the scarred gunblade artist slept soundly and silently, his arms folded on the rail and his legs bent slightly. Zell had to suppress a laugh as he stood beside his friend, his arm slowly working its way up his back. The blond smiled and decided against waking the brunette; fighting Cerberus had taken a lot out of Squall, though he wouldn't like to admit it. He drew his hand away as he began to frown, cursing his weakness; why had he been so powerless against Cerberus?

Something had happened to Zell as Cerberus had howled to the sky; he had felt it. Cerberus had unjunctioned himself, ripping all connection to Zell's subconscious. It was like the GF had grown tired of sleeping in Zell's head; but that didn't answer how Cerberus had managed to get out into the open on its own. He had had help.

"Seifer..."

Somehow Zell knew he was behind it. He and that 'Hyne's Crown'; why else would the GF have uttered Hyne as his last word?

He put his hands behind his head and tried to focus, tried to think for himself. Cerberus had never objected to being junctioned to any of them; on the contrary, he also performed better when called by Zell. So why the sudden change? What could have happened?

He paced a tiny circle in the corridor as night consumed the train, the landscape, and the city that Zell found himself travelling through. They were there; Deling City.

Squall began to stir and Zell decided not to bother him with his thoughts yet; he still needed to rest. He snapped himself out of his musings, and let the smile he always wore around Squall appear.

"That can't have been comfortable..." he said, making Squall jump slightly as his eyes sleepily found the blond. Zell giggled; a large red circle sat on Squall's forehead from where he had been leaning on the window.

"..Must've dropped off..."

Squall yawned and stretched, and began to take in his surroundings. He wiped his eyes and his cheeks, and started to smile slightly.

"How long were you watching me sleep...?"

Zell blushed. "I-I...I wasn't watching you sleep! I was looking for you, and then I found you in a slump by the window!" He silently scolded himself; way to lay it on too thick, Zell. "I've only been here about a minute" He lied.

"Ah well..." Squall checked the lionheart was by his side and looking out the window, he rubbed his neck. "Have you got everything then? Looks like we're here..."

Zell nodded. "Yup...Uh...No...Two minutes..."

The blond darted back into the cabin to search for anything he might have missed. He wasn't as organised as Squall, who had everything he needed in a small pouch attached to his belts; he on the other hand, picked up things whenever they took his fancy and just planked them anywhere, so always had to double check if he had left anything behind.

"I'll get you at the engine room Zell, I'm gonna pay the driver..."

A muffled "Okay" came from the cabin, as the scarred swordsman smiled slightly and made off for the driver.

-

The two stood in Galbadia Station not long afterwards, and they stayed on the platform until the train had pulled out of the station, taking with it a very happy driver, having scammed a large portion of Squall's gil from him.

"Better get that brooch out, Squall..." Zell remembered, surprising himself. "Hey...I remembered!"

The blond beamed as Squall laughed lightly, fixing the ornament to his coat and following his friend into Deling proper.

"So this Aeon guy, what you reckon he's like?" Zell asked, his hands in his back pockets as he tried to look cool in front of all the gangs of street kids, rockers and junkies hanging around the station.

"Not a clue..." Squall answered, bemused by his friend's actions "...but I know that those girls are looking at you..." the brunette smirked, finding flirting with Zell natural, and spontaneous.

Zell was blushing, and taking his hands out of his pockets he looked around a tad too quickly to really notice if anyone was watching. "Liar..." he laughed slightly and took off running "...I'm gonna stock up on potions, I'll get you at the entrance..."

Squall was even more bemused as he watched his friend sprint a little too quickly in the direction of the item shop, but not wanting to start looking into things too much, he simply accepted Zell's proposal and headed for the entrance.

"Weird boy..." he smiled slightly, as he climbed aboard the escalator that would take him to the magnificent marble doors that marked the entrance to Deling City; capital of Galbadia.

-

He had been at the entrance for a good ten minutes, with no sign of Zell, or of this Aeon person, with his brooch shining brightly in the dazzling Deling City lights, when a familiar gold long coat appeared at his side. The man in the coat sat beside him silently, and flicking his long brunette locks over one shoulder, he grinned evilly at Squall before speaking.

"How y'all doin?"

Irvine nudged his friend as Squall simply shrugged. The smile on the scarred teen's face told the gun slinging cowboy that he was fine, but the shrug told him he wanted to remain the callous Squall they all knew and loved.

"Never change Squall, do ya? Selphie's with Zell..." He smiled as Squall laughed slightly, and forced the swordsman into a tight bear hug. "It's good to see you"

Squall coughed lightly as he tried to reply. "You...too, Irvine." He was starting to go red by the time Irvine let go. Lighting up a cigarette, the long haired womaniser enjoyed a long, slow puff before getting more serious with Squall, a long wisp of smoke snaking out of his mouth and into the night air.

"How are you holding up?"

Just as Squall started to shift uncomfortably, a commotion down on the streets of Deling caught both their attentions; one of the busses was overturned and leaking petrol onto the road while screaming women and children fled the scene. A few bus conductor's were trying to hold some unknown force at bay, but one after one they were thrown high into the air and blew away, until the last remaining few decided simply to turn and run. The bus caught fire, and the petrol that had leaked out onto the road also went up in flames, sending a snaking trail of fire around the plaza, blowing up any cars it came into contact with; in a matter of seconds, the grand Plaza that stood before Deling Station was a visage of Chaos, with cars on fire, screaming children and masses of people fleeing.

"What the...?" Irvine stubbed out his cigarette and in a flash had Exeter in his hands. "C'mon Squall!"

Squall nodded and followed Irvine down the stairs to the Plaza, briefly reminding himself of the last time he had followed Irvine in Deling City, at Edea's parade...

Lionheart drawn, Squall and Irvine dived behind the bus, and before them stood a purple demon, streaked with the odd yellow flash and with some sort of bag hanging from its shoulder.

"Not again..." Squall whispered. Irvine looked at him, confused, then back at their adversary.

"Pandemonium...?"

All Squall could do was nod. A raspy voice filled the air, but it seemed that the only ones left to hear it were Squall and Irvine.

"CERBERUS..." it came "...HE FAILED WHERE I SHALL SUCEED. YOUR PASSAGE IS BARRED, SeeD!"

Pandemonium inhaled deeply, and the bus was effortlessly sucked into his air sac; Squall and Irvine were exposed, Squall with his sword raised high, Irvine, with his gun held forward, wearing a look of complete confusion.

"ZELL!"

Selphie's scream filled the air; looking round, Squall saw that Selphie had abandoned her Morning Star, which lay a few steps down from her, and was busying herself with keeping Zell upright; he was shivering and convulsing, like he was having some sort of fit, and Selphie help him as she struggled to keep her tears inside.

"SELPHIE! TAKE ZELL BACK INTO THE STATION!" Squall shouted, his blood pumping furiously as he saw Zell again reduced to a quivering wreck; the GF were having some adverse effect on him. Selphie only nodded and dragged Zell back inside; her shinobu still abandoned on the steps.

"Squall, what the hell..." Irvine began, but was distracted when Pandemonium hurtled the bus he had just sucked in towards the two mercenaries; Irvine leapt high into the air to avoid it, sending three consecutive shots in Pandemonium's direction, while Squall furiously and powerfully cleaved his lionheart right through the bus, which he halved easily and fell away behind them into two burning cars.



The bullets Irvine had hurled at Pandemonium all struck home, but none in any real way, and aside from a few superficial scrapes Pandemonium was unharmed.

"FOOLISH SeeD..."

Pandemonium used its deflated air bag as a kind of whip, and sent it hurtling toward Irvine; the gunman managed to jump out of the way, but when the 'whip' ricocheted off the ground, it hit Squall square in the face, bursting his nose and sending the blood everywhere.

"SQUALL!" Irvine shouted, running towards his injured friend.

"Irvine, just use a GF..." Squall stammered, putting his hands to his face, not caring that he had, once again, lost his lionheart in battle.

Standing in front of Squall, Irvine cast protect on himself; once again the whip came at Irvine, but it hid the solid blue barrier and Pandemonium howled into the wind as the vibrations travelled through his air sac and into his head.

"THIS IS FUTILE, SeeD" it shrieked painfully, his voice splitting into hundreds of different voices at it travelled along separate winds "THE WIND WILL HAVE IT'S WAY!"

Squall had recovered lionheart and was standing behind Irvine drinking a potion as all of a sudden they and everything around them were consumed by some sort of Tornado. All either of them could see was solid wind; it looked like clouds but moved far too quickly to hold any water, and slowly the circle of wind all around them was starting to enclose around them. Irvine shot randomly and hopelessly, the bullets merely sinking into the swirling mass as Pandemonium's voice penetrated the winds.

"NO FURTHER SHALL YOU COME, SeeD. YOUR TIME HERE IS OVER"

"Irvine! GF!" Squall shouted, he himself not having junctioned one after the Cerberus battle.

Irvine panicked and thought of the first GF he had junctioned; his body lurched slightly as he finished calling upon his GF. The ground beneath he and Squall started to move; a small circle was growing between them until finally up jumped a green being, high into the sky above them both, which showered them both with a gleaming red light.

"CARBUNCLE?!" Squall shouted, frustrated as the useless Reflect spell the GF had cast solidified around him. Carbuncle fell back into its hole, it's magic done, and the gap in the earth started to close up again.

"Squall! Jump!" Irvine followed his GF into the hole; where it lead he didn't know, but Squall found himself jumping in after them both, cursing under his breath.

"Carbuncle!" Irvine shouted. "We need to get away from that twister; but not too far!"

They were falling, it was complete darkness here, wherever they were, and Squall suddenly felt hopeless. He held his hands out in all directions and could feel nothing solid aside from the protect and reflect spells Irvine and Carbuncle had cast on him. He sighed desperately; at least he had kept a hold of Lionheart this time.

They were behind Pandemonium, suddenly, a blinding light having enveloped them and tossed them high into the sky. The pair braced as the hit the ground again, though neither hurt themselves on impact. Squall looked, disbelieving, back into the hole, where a gleaming ruby and a pair of glowing eyes were staring back at him.

"Not as useless as you thought, eh Squall?" Carbuncle said, his tiny voice giggling as the hole closed up again.



Irvine laughed and reloaded Exeter. "Looks like he hasn't noticed yet..."

"Good." Squall replied, shaking himself out of his disbelief; he would never underestimate Carbuncle again. Pandemonium was still facing he twister he had made, oblivious that the SeeD's he thought he was torturing were in fact behind him. "Irvine, you shot at him from back here, I'm going in close..."

"Well duh..." Irvine replied as Squall took off, a smile gracing his lips as bullets hurtled past him on either side. It was good to be fighting with Irvine again.

His blade struck home, just after three of Irvine's bullets ripped through Pandemonium's air sac. The force of their combined attack forced Pandemonium staggering forward, but the purple GF never faltered, and whipped the sac backwards again; this time however, it didn't get too far. It seemed that when it was punctured it was useless.

More bullets rained down on Pandemonium as Squall slashed again and again, occasionally even resorting to punching him; the winds picked up again, but they never gathered any real momentum, the GF obviously struggling to focus with the sustained attack he was dealing with.

"YOU...YOU COWARDS!"

A sudden gust blew Squall back a few feet, and Irvine bullets bent around Pandemonium as the wind carried them in different directions. The GF swirled around to face them both, his body writhing with pain and anger.

"YOU WILL PAY!"

He punched his fists together and a gust pulled Squall and Irvine upwards. The wind dragged them together, and, manipulated by Pandemonium's will, the two friends were smashed against each other, bones breaking and weapons falling.

"SeeD IS NO MATCH FOR THE WIND..."

Again and again, Irvine and Squall collided in mid-air; Squall was mildly aware of someone screaming his name, possibly Selphie, but unconsciousness was slowly starting to claim him...

He hit the ground hard, and after the immediate impact was greeted with a cooling sensation. A blue mist forced his eyes to close, but as quickly as the sensation had come, it had gone. Looking around, he found that Selphie had cast curaga, and was now treating Irvine. Pandemonium, in the distance, was facing off against someone he didn't know, with a shining shriuken and lightening fast moves. The unknown fighter was running rings around Pandemonium.

"Go help him then!" Selphie ordered as she poured potions into Irvine's wounds; he'd obviously been hit worse than Squall. Zell was standing in the background, looking away from the fighting. He seemed well enough but something was clearly bothering him. The brunette wanted just to hold him...

But Squall didn't say a word; he just took off for Pandemonium, his sword ready. The newcomer was jumping high and using his shriuken like a boomerang, throwing it at Pandemonium, leaving blood oozing out of open gashes in its chest and face. The wind carried his screams as he tried to whip his assailant, but to no avail. Squall was impressed with this fighter's style; speed over strength, agility over brutality.

He lunged forward with his own attacks, his lionheart's bullets coupled with the shriuken's sharpened blades proving enough to overpower Pandemonium. The raging winds died down, and Pandemonium fell onto his back.



The unknown fighter landed beside Squall and caught his Shriuken while the scarred SeeD raised his sword high above his head.

"HYNE!" Pandemonium screamed, as Squall cut right through the fallen GF; blood, gore, and a purple mist flew out of the body, which had started decomposing before Squall had even lifted lionheart again. The rotting carcass lay, unmoving, before him as his unknown helper cast firaga; the bones disintegrating to dust and scattering in the wind.

Fitting, Squall thought.

"Squall?" The fighter asked. Squall cautiously raised an eyebrow and looked into his accomplices deep green eyes. "I'm Aeon, pleased to meet you."

Caraway's mercenary held his hand out towards Squall as Selphie, Irvine and a downhearted Zell joined them both, in the middle of the ruined Deling Plaza.


	10. Caraway's Aeon

**Caraway's Aeon**

_(Note: 'Aeon' is an original character I created myself; my username is AeonDaniel, so guess who I'm trying to put into the FF world here? :P As always, R&R Please)_

Taller than Squall by at least five inches, Aeon smiled friendly as the pair shook hands. A real sense of strength gripped Squall in that handshake, and it was clear that Aeon was as powerful as he was agile. Something told Squall that this man could be trusted, that he was a friend; some intuition, some inexplainable feeling that felt something like magic...

Aeon shook Zell's hand as well, but it seemed that he already knew Irvine and Selphie by the way he ruffled the tiny SeeD girls hair as he passed her. Squall admired Aeon from the back as he watched him introduce himself to Zell; a tight black t-shirt accentuated Aeon's pecs and well defined body; not muscular, but lean and toned, while a pair of tight twister black jeans accentuated his buttocks and his calfs; the motorbike boots that climbed half way up these calves were of the deepest black, with silver buckles not unlike Squall's own. Aeon looked the typical dark ninja, a look reinforced by his jet black hair, which crawled loosely down his neck and face in a side fringe, and spiked messily at the back and top. His shining silver shriuken strapped loosely at his side, Squall was taken away by Aeon's good looks, as well as his prowess in battle.

But the feelings of admiration quickly made way for feelings of intense envy; while shaking Aeon's hand, Zell had started giggling stupidly and flushed bright red, all previous worries and angst obviously brushed aside for the present moment. A glance came Squall's way, and Zell suddenly stopped giggling, and with a nervous cough, he turned away from Aeon and started busying himself with his gloves.

"The general is waiting for you at his manor," Aeon said "he says he thinks he can explain what's happening to the GF..."

Squall nodded, trying to suppress the feelings of jealousy but failing miserably; he couldn't help the scowl that his face wore as he acknowledge Aeon, nor could he help the characteristic arm folding that seemed to be Squall's 'thing'

"Don't mind Squall, Aeon" Selphie giggled, patting the mercenary on teh back as she walked to Squall and took his hand, leading him in the direction of Caraway's Manse "it takes him a while to act friendly...ain't that right Squally?"  
Squall had to smile at his young friends harmless teasing. "Right." He replied, a smile gracing his features as he and Selphie made their way through the wreckage of the Plaza. The swordsman tried to glance round, just for a look at Zell and this Aeon character, but Selphie cuddled into him tightly as they walked.

"How are you, big guy?" She asked; a serious question, but characteristic of the spunky brunette, she was trying to keep the tone light. "About...Rinoa...I mean..."

A lump rose in Squall's throat. He felt awful for what he was about to say.

"I'm fine, Selphie" and he meant it; guilt clamped around his heart like an iron fist, and his voice cracked "I'm fine."

The young shinobu artist said nothing as she looked up into the face of her older friend; she merely smiled and cuddling in tighter.

"If you ever need to talk..."

"Thanks, Selph." He let the feeling of guilt go; Rinoa had allowed him to move on. He had to allow himself the same pleasure.



-

Nostalgia lingered in the air; they had been escorted to the same old room by Caraway's guard, and, strangely enough, they had all taken up the same places; Zell parried at the window, though he was considerably quieter than the last time they had been here; Irvine sat calmly at the desk, his feet up on the table, with Aeon looking at the hundreds of books on the shelves behind him, all while Squall and Selphie slowly paced the room waiting for Caraway to make his appearance.

Nothing had changed in the room. The picture of Caraway's wife still hung by the windows, and a swarm of butterflies formed in Squall's belly; she had Rinoa's eyes, Rinoa's striking features, Rinoa's dark hair...

He tore his eyes away and they settled on the fidgeting Zell. A look of sheer determination seemed to envelope him, his eyes glistening with tears he refused to let fall. Not wanting to make too much a deal of it, Squall simply squeezed his friend's shoulder as he walked past on his way to the luxurious couch he intended to sit on. Zell seemed to relax for a moment, before the door banged open and Caraway walked in, his hair still immaculate, his uniform still perfect, but the gleam in his eye, fading.

"Nice to see you all again..." he said, but his tone told him he didn't believe his words. He looked none of them in the face and proceeded directly to the drinks drawer of his desk, not before shooing Irvine's feet off the surface. Aeon stood at attention in the corner, obviously having been trained at G-Garden with the army-like pose he adopted. Straight backed and staring straight ahead, Squall doubted he was even breathing.

"So what..." Squall began but Caraway cut him short.

"Let's get straight to the point here; I regret having to involve you all but I must profess that I know of no one else I can turn to..." he took a long drink of the scotch he had poured, and after letting the taste settle on his lips he commenced what had obviously been a well prepared speech. "The Galbadian Army is no longer headed by the Generals and the Majors; Seifer, and Seifer alone, is giving orders to the troops in the barracks and the officers in the field." Squall was getting ready to ask a question, and Caraway noticed; but paid no attention "We believe that he, himself, is taking orders, however; there are reports of a strange woman standing behind him whenever he gives orders, and of there being a similar figure present at all times in his "office" in the Presidential Palace. Now that the army is mobilised entirely on that confounded airship, though, we have no way of knowing who is charge."

"So it's not just Seifer who is the problem..." Irvine said, his brows furrowed as he looked around at his friends. They were all clearly disturbed; whether it was the prospect of facing Seifer again in battle, or merely Caraway's unfriendly and cold demeanour, he couldn't say. A mixture of both, he thought.

"Not at all; on the contrary, I believe that Seifer isn't the problem at all." Another swig of scotch. "If this woman is indeed giving Seifer orders then I am of the opinion that if she falls, Seifer falls, and with him, the ridiculous notions that seem to have gripped the army of late. You all know, of course, of the Timber incident?"

The group nodded in unison. Again, Squall started to speak, and again, Caraway continued without hesitation. "Winhill has met the same fate, as have a few small hamlets on the outskirts of the Dollet Dukedom. WE don't know what the Seifer, or this woman, hope to gain from eradicating these towns but they must be stopped, not least before the target bigger cities like Deling!"

"So what do we know about the woman?" Squall said quickly, before Caraway could cut him up; the older General flinched slightly as he spoke, but before he could reply Selphie chipped in.

"And that airship; and the Crown!"



Another swig of scotch, and with an empty glass Caraway returned to his drinks drawer to refill. "The woman; she is somewhat an enigma. Every time one of our undercover spies got too close she seemed to sense then and mysteriously vanished. I am lead to believe, unfortunately, that this woman is a sorceress...possibly the one who received Ultimecia's powers?"

"That's not possible..." Squall said, but Caraway ignored him and rambled about Ultimecia for a few more moments before Zell jumped.

"He said, it can't be her; Edea took her powers before she died."

"Edea...? Could it be her...?" Caraway mused, becoming lost in his thoughts.

"No, she gave her powers to..." Selphie paused and her voice quietened "...to Rinoa..."

Caraway flinched and drained his scotch. He returned to the drawer and refilled, his hands trembling slightly. "So we're dealing with a new threat entirely." His voice shook more than his hands as he spoke, and once again, the scotch was drained. His forehead was glistening with sweat and his immaculate hair was beginning to fall out of place. "Well whoever she is, she must be stopped. The airship and the crown, however..." He wiped his forehead before draining another glass of scotch. Aeon's eyes shifted slightly as he eyed how much scotch his employer had drunk already. "They seem to be relics from the same period as those found in the Tomb of the Unkown King; they aren't of Dollet construction however, and we can only assume that Seifer's explanation of them being artefacts of Hyne's rule as true. If they are, and this woman is indeed a sorceress, their combined powers could be devastating. I repeat again; they must be stopped."

Aeon spoke for the first time since Carway had entered the room. "We have a plan to counter this threat." Caraway glanced in the mercenary's direction as though to reprimand him; but he thought better of it and simply busied himself with yet another scotch. "We believe that when you present yourself to Seifer as the SeeD's who defeated Ultimecia, he and this woman, this sorceress, will attack. It is of the utmost importance that you emerge victorious; and that the crown Seifer carries with him is obtained."

"We're gonna steal it?" Zell asked, his brows furrowing.

"No. I am" Aeon said, quickly and shortly.

"So while we fight; you steal?" Selphie asked, a slight smile on her lips. "I don't think it'll be that easy..."

"Well it's not quite as simple a plan as that, Selphie..." Aeon continued; he glanced quickly at Caraway who was pouring yet another scotch, but said nothing of it. "...Seifer and his woman are expecting you four to turn up, they don't know anything about me. While you start the fight I'll run in as a kind of, unforeseen help, and when I get close enough to Seifer, I'll wrangle the Crown from him."

Squall raised his eyebrows and Selphie sniggered quietly.

"You clearly don't know Seifer..." Zell said.

"I don't need to; you've all seen how fast I can be...you need skills like that if you're gonna be a theif"

"So you're a thief?" Squall asked, incredulously.

"I prefer to call it borrowing..." Aeon said, with an evil grin and a twinkle in his eye "...but only from people who can afford it..." He winked silently in the direction of Caraway, who, on yet another scotch, didn't notice a thing.



"Well if that's you all clued up..." Caraway slurred "...perhaps you could all prepare yourselves...you have four days left before Seifer's airship comes back to Galbadia for you."

"Wait!" Zell asked. "What about my GF's...?"

Everyone turned in the blond's direction; it had been obvious that it was troubling him, but to hear him say it aloud, every one of his friends wanted to hug Zell.

"That..." Caraway said; bur before anything else could come, he fell backwards onto one of his couches, spilling scotch all down himself. He didn't seem to concerned; from the snores that ensued, he was clearly quite comfortable.

Silence. Every stared at Caraway while Zell hung his head.

"Don't worry..." Squall whispered by his side. "We'll sort it..." He coughed and faced the group. "Well let's get out of here then. Leave the General to it..."

They all nodded and started heading out, only Zell staying behind with Squall. They both watched Irvine, Selphie and Aeon leave the room, speak about some restaurant on the Arcade, and then when they were alone with Caraway's snores, Zell turned to his brunette friend.

"I'm sorry, Squall..." was all he said, before a lone tear ran down his cheek and he bolted out of the room after the others.

"For...what...?"

Confused, and with a compelling urge to hug Zell, Squall walked out of the room without looking back at Caraway. All he whispered under his breath was "She's okay...", somehow sensing Caraway's frustration at the loss of his only, if estranged, daughter.


	11. Preminition

**Preminitions and Revelations.**

Snap.

The sweat dripped down his brow as he wandered through the place where he didn't know where he was. The cacti touched the sky on either side, the thorns bigger than the sword he carried. Arms flailing, the silver blade an extension of his own will, his own being, the magnificent growths were felled with every stroke. His hair clung tightly to his face as the canopy of ivy overhead retained all the heat from the blazing sun he couldn't see, the dried leaves and dead skins underneath his feet crunching with the slightest movements, adding a dissonant accompaniment to the cheerful chirping of the nightingales and the crickets, fooled by the canopy into thinking the world had been plunged into a perpetual night.

The lemurs bounded from thorn to thorn on the overgrown cacti, the cacti that could rival oaks and sycamores.

His heart beat quickly, somewhere in his eardrums, as his arms began to ache under the weight of his relentless attacks. A final blow, delivered from above, forced one of the bigger cacti to tumble, revealing a clearing, overwhelmed by sunlight and filled by a pulsating, cooling wind. He staggered forward, and fell to his knees.

Looking up, a break in the canopy revealed a cloudless, orange sky; sunset loomed above the jungle, the odd fleck of sunlight reflecting off some unseen lake or river, into the screen that was the sky. Beautiful.

"You never used to get this tired."

He smiled and closed his eyes; the voice filled his being as the wind swept over him and the sweat continued to trickle down his brow. He became one with the forest and the wind, the sunlight and the sky. He encased himself in the cacti, felt the rush of the lemurs...the voice resonating within his soul.

"I guess I'm getting old." A short reply, lined with his characteristically dry humour.

A breathless laugh welled up inside; the voice's heartiness heightening his feeling of being one with his surroundings. The smile that graced his features was minimal, compared to the joy that ebbed and flowed within him. A sea of emotion raged from his core to his heart – the oneness of his state and his environment elated with the presence of this voice, and it's host.

"And here I always thought you were invincible..." Footsteps, quiet at first, but getting louder as the host came nearer. "I always took strength from you..."

Two thin, but healthy, arms wrapped around his waist, the host grasping him from behind in an embrace that said more than words ever could. _I love you. I miss you._

"And this...ring..." the hands travelled from his midriff, past his neck, and settled somewhere around his head. He somehow knew that he had to open his eyes, and reluctantly relinquishing this euphoric feeling, he slowly aloud his light blue eyes to expose themselves to the setting sunlight above. A second to adjust, and he saw it. A perfectly formed hand, distinctly feminine, wearing a strong silver band, engraved with some sort of animal or monster, gracing the wedding finger.

"Griever...!"

He started to turn to face the host of the voice, but he was stopped by the same hands he had just been admiring.



"This time you're not allowed to see my face. I'm sorry." The host stifled a snob. "Your plan won't work, Squall." It said, shedding its warmth and it's joviality; taking on a much more serious tone, but never once losing the love that it emanated, the sincerity that it commanded. "But you have to go through with it. It's part of the grand scheme of things..."

"What scheme...?"

"I'm sorry Squall, I can't say." The hands receded fully. "Stay looking forward. Or close your eyes again...it was kind of cute..." The teasing quality of that voice - Squall had always loved and loathed it in equal measures. He closed his eyes again, the scents of lavender and vanilla filling his senses. Enveloping him, becoming him.

Footsteps, fading this time.

"His plan won't work. But it needs to happen..." The voice was uneven, shaken, but resolute. "You'll be fine, nothing will happen to you, I won't let it. But still; be on your guard. Seifer isn't the one you need to worry about."

"How can you help, though, Ri..."

"DON'T say my name either...It's not allowed..." The host was pacing faster; he could hear it. The footsteps were quick and the breathing was becoming ragged. "...I'll be there, but only through you. You need to believe that I am there, and I will be; if you believe I am with you I can keep you and the others safe."

Something snapped.

"Sandalwood..." the voice sounded sad, but at the same time, strangely relieved. "...you have to go back now, Squall." A sigh...or was it a sniff? He couldn't tell. "Just remember, I'll be there. And you'll be fine."

He tried to open his mouth, to speak, to profess his love, but nothing came, a choking noise; from him, or the host? Who could know.

Not him; a sob filled his ears as a rushing of wind carried him, soul, being, body, core, heart, along some invisible pathway, from where, to where, unknown.

Something snapped.

-

Squall snapped himself out of his reveries. The teenage hero found him staring at a cloudless, brilliant blue sky; the sun was high and bright, and all around the central park of Deling City young couples, groups of drinking teenagers and frail old pensioners enjoyed the sunshine. Dogs and children played in the short, freshly mown grass and Squall found his friends gathered all around him, sunbathing, happy, armed with sunglasses and sun cream; a welcome change from sword, guns and shinobu.

Eyes were boring into the back of his head when he turned round to see Zell, in all his tanned beauty, gazing at him with those beautiful baby blue eyes that transcended the sky a thousand times over, a slight glistening of sweat glimmering over his brow, his pecs, his abdomen, his hair flopping messily and attractively around his perfectly formed face. A smile tugged as his lips as he and Squall shared a quiet moment together, before he lay back on the grass and donned his silver sun glasses once more.

Selphie lay between the two boys; her eyes shifting from one to the other under the veil of her own black shades.

She smiled calmly and silently.

-

The feeling of the grass in his hair irritated him, but the peace and tranquillity that he found himself experience prevented him from moving even the slightest inch. Irvine and Aeon were off buying ice cream while Selphie and Zell chatted happily beside him, having recently tired of the water pistols they had bought that morning.  
Not before time, a slightly damp Squall thought.

Squall was content with his thought, the quiet chattering of his friends and long with the slow and gentle breeze and the smell of grass cuttings calming him immeasurably. The worries of his 'dream', though he was sure it had been more than that; a vision, a premonition, something, had given way to a feeling of immense security, safety. Happiness.

Rinoa's message played over in his mind. "His plan won't work...but nothing will happen to you, I won't let it..." He considered telling his friends. 'But tell them what,' he debated silently 'Rinoa will be there and I know because she told me?' He shook his head under the now-setting sun. All day they had sunbathed and laughed, and drank, and enjoyed themselves, and all day the 'dream' niggled at his subconscious.  
He decided to clear his throat and sit up while Aeon and Irvine were away; Zell and Selphie had more respect for Squall than to consider him crazy.  
The younger teens had looked in his direction as he propped himself up on his elbows; he hadn't said much all day. Selphie looked like she wanted to say something, but after a side glance at Zell, who seemed to be...blushing?...she obviously reconsidered.  
"What's up?" Zell asked, his voice shaky for some reason, his face glowing now. But Squall decided he better not let his mind wander, lest he lose his nerve and decide, once again, to keep his visions to himself.

Selphie and Zell moved closer, sitting on either side of Squall.

A deep sigh. A closing of his eyes. And he was ready.

"I've got something to tell you..." Selphie squealed slightly, but she restrained herself after Zell shot her a vicious glance. If looks could kill, Selphie wouldn't be seeing Seifer tomorrow. Still baffled by the pair's behaviour, Squall carried on. "Since Rinoa died..." Selphie's smile faded slightly; her eyes took on a more serious tone and she lifted a hand to her older friend's shoulder. Support, strength that Squall drew on. "..I've been getting...messages...from her..."  
The pair looked at each other. Selphie's hand dropped as her mouth opened slightly, the jaw dropping in shock and confusion, while Zell made himself more comfortable and stared intently at Squall. There was no disbelief here, Squall could feel the sincerity of his friends'; they didn't understand, but they wanted to, and he appreciated it, and he was somewhat relieved.  
"What kind of messages...?" Zell asked cautiously and slowly.  
'Poor Zell', Squall thought. The blond looked far too confused, far too worried, for his pretty face to handle.

"I've been having dreams, and she's been telling me stuff...Random stuff, that I can't make sense of..."  
Selphie, her face having lost the bemused look and regained a serious demeanour, put her hand back on Squall's shoulder. The was no giggling, no blushing, no squealing. And with the touch, Squall's head was sent into overdrive. The second her bare hand had touched his bare shoulder, he had found himself plucked from his body and planted in Selphie's. He saw himself, felt his own shoulder, and heard his own voice as he explained the jungle, the lemurs, the sandalwood, the snapping noise; all from his own body but not from his own mind. Very eloquently he explained the strange visions he had been having, and how he had felt on each occasion. But more interestingly, he caught a glimpse of Selphie's thoughts; her voice echoed around her head as her thoughts charged through her mind, and here and there Squall caught the odd word or phrase.  
"Rinoa...Poor Squall...Zell...Poor Zell..."  
Images flitted across his minds eye as he tried to focus more on what Selphie was thinking about Rinoa and Zell; he started to lose contact with the conversation that he was having, the conversation that he couldn't explain but was occurring before his very eyes, and slowly, he began to see another conversation.  
Selphie and Zell were refilling their water pistols.  
"So what's the deal then, Zell?" He was saying, obviously with Selphie's voice. He looked up to find Zell donning a confused face that wasn't unlike the one he had on at this present moment as he listened to 'Squall' explain the dreams, and the messages. "With Squall." He, Selphie, said bluntly.

The blond flushed and busied himself with the water pistols.  
"I...I don't know what you mean..."  
"Oh come on!" Selphie replied quickly and loudly, incredulously. "You seriously expect me to believe that?"  
Zell was bright red as he looked at her.  
"Promise you won't say anything?"  
A hand appeared before his, Selphie's, eyes, fingers crossed, pinky outstretched.  
"Pinky promise!"  
Zell laughed nervously before setting the water pistol down and sitting on the sidewalk.  
"I...I think I'm in love with him."  
Selphie's hand was wrapping around Zell's neck as the sound hit Squall; the image and the noise started to go fuzzy as he was receding back into his own mind. He shot back to the conversation, from Selphie's point of view, but she was breaking contact; in what felt like slow motion he saw and felt her hand leave his shoulder, and he was jilted back into his own body.  
He gasped loudly, and his friends looked at him, even more confused.  
Selphie had put her hand to her head, but she seemed more concerned about Squall than herself at the moment, as he looked at her, then Zell, then back at her, then down at the grass, as his cheeks flushed bright red and his heart thumped harder.  
"Well...?" The blond asked. "Rinoa's going to be there and...?"  
Squall caught his breath, and answered Zell's question with a shaking of his head and a closing of his eyes.  
"And that's it...the dream ended after she said that..."  
"Yo!"  
Irvine and Aeon were coming back, holding three ice lollies each. Squall was flustered as he forgot there were only five of them; it only dawning on him that there was one extra when, behind the two boys...  
...Quistis limped towards them.  
Selphie jumped up, screaming, and ran at her friend, Aeon and Irvine sporting amused faces as she rushed past them.  
But Squall could only look at Zell.  
And all he found, was that Zell could only look at him.


	12. Quistis Thinker of the Group

**Quistis; Another Problem to Solve.**

The reddening of his cheeks was prominent, and yet discreet. Squall didn't know if he was the only who noticed, and in truth, he didn't care. Zell's flush made his heart skip beats, his nervous smile made his stomach knot itself, and when he spoke...when he spoke, with that choking nervousness, his voice catching on his ragged breath as he tried to compose himself...Squall found himself gushing in his mind.

Cogs turned and wheels spun, the deepest reveries of his mind working overload as he methodically listed in his head all the things about Zell that he found endearing, cute, sexy, hot, attractive...the list seemed never ending. Even when the blond had finally turned away from him, Quistis having hugged him from behind and forced him out of his musings, Squall still stared silently, a smile caressing his lips as his heart thundered inside his chest; his ribs threatened to snap, crack and break thanks to the tremors that the mighty muscle was sending though his body, as he heard his pulse in his eardrum, felt his blood rush from his head to his toes, and floated on air just a little above the grass lawn they were all sitting on.

And then Quistis turned her attention to him, her best student.

"Squall..."

The instructor held him tight as she poured all her grief, her sorrow, her sympathy, her support into the embrace, her hug saying more than words ever could. _I love you, I'm hear for you._ Squall almost buckled. He almost let the tears he had been storing fall; but then he caught sight of Zell. Blushing, slightly. And smiling. At him.

Without a word Quistis drew away, a sad smile on her lips as her eyes threatened to shed a few tears of their own, silently caressing her friend's cheek as she withdrew back into the circle of friends, sitting across from Squall and between Irvine and Aeon.

"Quistis, this is Aeon..." Selphie began the introductions as Squall retreated back into his thoughts. All the sympathy Quistis had for him, it put him to shame. Just moments ago he had been lusting over Zell, another of his best friend's, when it had been next to no time since Rinoa's death. His pulse slowed and his heart beat regulated, his face fell as his eyes suddenly became awash with unfalling tears. He didn't hear what the others were saying around him, the jokes they shared, the anecdotes they regaled; Quistis' remarkable recovery at the hands of Dr Kadowaki's most advanced spells completely bypassed his thought processes as he sank deeper and deeper into the black hole of his grief, his despair, his anguish. His self loathing conquered him, until he finally had to silently stand and walk away from the group, away from the one salvation left to him, muttering something about clearing his head.

He was vaguely aware of Quistis and Selphie exchanging worried words and glances, of the boys looking on, confused, as he exited the park. And of Zell, ever anxious, following him. Zell, ever worried, caring about him. Zell. Ever loving. Loving him.

_That's what he told Selphie..._ Squall's mind reeled. He didn't know how it had happened or why it had happened. But he suddenly remembered Rinoa talking about a 'grand scheme'; this had happened for a reason. But what reason?

To wrack him with guilt? To help him get over Rinoa? To help him embrace his apparent bisexuality? To accept Zell?

Too many questions.

"I'll look after him..." Squall heard the blond martial artist say to the friends he was so ignorantly walking away from.

The black hole got deeper, the guilt building within with an extreme vengeance, but something in the way of a light appeared in the darkness as Squall reminded himself that Zell was with him, watching him.

The scarred teen didn't look back into the face of his protector, his salvation, but knowing he was there comforted him as he made off for nowhere in particular.

-

The sun had long set by the time Selphie had finished filing everyone in. She didn't know if it was quite her place to tell them, but she felt that Irvine and Quistis at least had the right to know about Squall's dreams and Zell's feelings. With the utmost of tact she managed to persuade Aeon to go off and look for the two missing renegades while she shared what she knew with her lover and her best friend.

"So what does it mean...?" Irvine contemplated, scratching his head as his long brunette locks tossed around his fingers. He studied first Selphie, then Quistis, looking for an answer, a meaning, but found nothing.

"It sounds to me like..." Quistis began, but her mouth soon retreated behind her hand as her brow furrowed and she rethought her musing.

"Go on?" Selphie urged.

"Well..." Quistis sighed and her expression deepened; she wondered what Irvine would do without her here to explain everything. Selphie was intelligent enough, but she wasn't quite as eloquent or quick witted as the blond haired instructor "...it sounds to me like Rinoa passed her powers onto Squall..."

Selphie gasped and Irvine sat bolt upright, but neither of them, when they thought about it, really found it so shocking. Since Rinoa's death he had been different, just as deep, but equally as forthcoming; he had tried to hide his emotions as he always did, but he had become easier to read and was a lot more understanding and cooperative than his moody, "lone wolf" self had been.

"So Squall's a sorceress...?" Irvine asked, his face the picture of confusion.

"Sorcerer." Quistis corrected.

"I just thought he'd changed because Rinoa died..." Selphie thought aloud, her face softening as she realised the implications of Squall being a sorcerer "...wait! He could be driven mad if he doesn't come to terms with it!"

She looked at her friends, and Irvine didn't quite understand, but the worried glaze that her eyes took on but told Selphie that Quistis understood perfectly.

"What do you guys mean?" Irvine asked.

"Sorceresses, and I presume sorcerers, that ignore or suppress their powers are eventually driven mad, they're emotions overcome them and they begin to act out on simple desires; anger, hate, revenge. The biggest theory for Adel's madness was her initial suppression of her powers. Remember, she didn't show up on the radar until her late thirties, but she openly admitted to receiving her power when she was in her late teens. She never had a knight; someone to help her stay grounding to her human self. The power overcame her..."

"So the longer Squall's oblivious, the more he's at risk of going...mad?"

Selphie nodded. "Adel had been living somewhere in Cetra before she killed the President of Esthar when he was inspecting the site of the last Lunar Cry..." Quistis looked surprised at her younger friend "...I had to do a project on her life before her power as part of our understanding magic class at Trabia..." she explained, a blush, a mixture of pride and embarrassment, graced her cheeks. "I had to do a lot of work for that project." Her expression darkened. "Sorceress' powers, and I presume sorcerers', are tied to their emotions. They are as uncontrollable and unstable as their host's emotions. That's what makes a knight so important; with something constant by your side, a lover, friend, confidant, a sorceress can stay, on some levels emotionally grounded..."

Quistis nodded. "Yes. Edea remained sane, even after talking Ultimecia's powers, because of Cid. It was only after they were separated by their building the Gardens that she began thinking about the Ellone issue on her own; without Cid to remind her of her human half, the sorceress took over, letting Ultimecia in. Letting the madness consume Edea..." she furrowed her brow and held her eyes closed. "With Rinoa dead, Squall is as emotionally unstable as anyone needs to be to sink into a depression; a depressed Sorcerer could be just as dangerous as an angry or vengeful Sorceress."

"Yeah..." Selphie chimed in again. "..And with the whole Zell thing..." Quistis nodded again. Irvine looked confused. "Oh c'mon Irvy!"

Quistis looked up at Irvine's nonplussed expression and laughed. "Oh Irvine..." the two girls looked at each other and shrugged; even in the seriousness of their conversation they were appreciative of their female intuition. "Long story short, Irvine..." she explained "...they have the hots for each other.

Irvine's eyes widened, but he looked like he was catching on.

"But...But..." He fought internally for a moment, before deciding to merely accept it "..each to his own, I guess..." Selphie smiled."But with all this emotional turmoil he's going through, I see what you guys mean..."

The three sat in silence.

"But he's got all of us. Surely he can't feel that cut off from his human side with all of us...?" Selphie started. But then she realised it was Squall she was talking about. The lone wolf extraordinaire.

"Squall bottles things up. That won't help..." Quistis reminded her.

Another silence.

"We could just tell him?" Irvine suggested, having decided it had been long enough since no one spoke, his pretend thinking face beginning to look more and more pretend as time progressed. "We could tell him he's a sorcerer...And that we could all be his knights?"

The girls shook their heads. Quistis smiled, ever so slightly, as she realised that Irvine, while rugged, handsome, witty, funny and street smart, lagged behind the rest of them on the intelligence front. But for making Selphie so happy, and for looking so good...she felt she could forgive him. And she sighed.

"We'll leave it for now. But we should maybe drop hints..." the blonde suggested "...and I think Squall might be more fragile than he's letting on. Remember how good he is at hiding how he's feeling from us; losing Rinoa put him in a delicate enough state, if he really has gained her power his mind could be in overdrive without him even realising it..."

Selphie looked crestfallen. "Poor Zell..."

Irvine laughed a bit.

"I never thought he'd go for the quiet type..." Quistis smiled, reminiscing on Zell's days of being the token prep-kid of the Garden, exuding charisma and energy even as a young boy. "...I guess opposites attract..." The three friends laughed, happy that Squall wouldn't go mad, just yet, when Aeon ran back into the park.

"GUYS!" His face, alight with some sort of joviality and a tinge of shock alerting all three of his comrades. "Squall and Zell..they're...they're..."

Selphie squealed as she realised why Aeon looked for shocked but happy;

"KISSING!" She screamed for him.

_Note : I know I'm probably going to have to re-edit this chapter, but once I've got the plot sorted out over the next few chapters, I'll pad things out with better descriptions and slower revelations etc.etc._

_Anyways, R&R please, I'll love you forever ___


	13. Ifrit Bringer of Destiny

**Ifrit, Bringer Of Destiny**

He didn't know what he was doing, why he was doing it. Tears streamed down his face the two warring emotions ripped his heart asunder. The guilt threatened to destroy him; the lust was his salvation.

It was extraordinarily impulsive; for Squall, this was positively unprecedented. Zell had been behind him, a few paces, silent, worried, concerned, but respectful enough to give Squall his space. The remaining sunlight glinting across the horizon and pouring through every nook and cranny of the Deling Arcade gave the world a rose tinted glow that thawed even his insurmountable guilt. Thawed; but it didn't melt.

Suddenly disgusted with himself he broke the kiss, and through his tears he looked at Zell, his best friend, his comrade, his...crush? The thought made him feel sick; thoughts of Rinoa filled his mind as thoughts of Zell filled his heart, and his groin. The world took on a purplish hue as he found himself darting further down this unknown alleyway to some unknown goal.

Zell reached to grab his hand, confused, rejected, hopeful...and before he could stop himself, Squall struck out.

With more force than he'd intended, and more force than he'd thought he was capable of, he delivered a swift blow to Zell's jaw, which sent the martial artist hurtling through the air before crumpling at the entrance of the alleyway, blood seeping from his mouth...

Deeper into the alleyway he ran, as the purple mist descended ever further, and he found himself scaling walls and fences, jumping from skyscraper to skyscraper.

-

Zell had been oblivious for a time; Squall's tongue probing his own, Squall tears sliding down his cheeks and making him look ever cute and ever sullen, Squall grabbing him by the hand and dragging him down a more private alleyway only to be kissed with the fervour, the passion, the desire of an untamed animal in heat. He loved it.

His lust built to fever pitch. Never before had he experienced this, this, this magnetism, this lust, this all consuming desire; Squall's warm, unsteady hand travelling slowly, teasingly, down the small of his back...further...further...

Zell moaned and he tasted Squall's tears as they ran down his cheeks and he made to kiss more of him; his cheek, his neck...

Until he was stopped; tears glazed those beautiful brown eyes as Squall slowly withdrew his hands and looked down for a moment, before looking up with his brow furrowed and eyes agog. He turned to run, but the blond, determined not to let Squall run from this, tried to stay his hand...

Before he was hit. Hit by one of the few people he would trust with his life, hit by one of the few people he loved, hit by the only person he wanted. He was flying through the air, in shock, all his training out of the window, before he landed unceremoniously on his side. He felt something trickle down his chin, but it was nothing. The rib he'd heard and felt breaking wasn't so bad either.

But he cried. He was in agony.

For Squall to do this to him...he must really hate him...

-

Selphie danced along the Arcade just a little ways behind Aeon. Quistis and Irvine lagged behind, not wanting to ruin the moment, if there even was one, and wanting even less to escalate Squall's undoubted rage at Selphie and Aeon's snooping. The four friends were in high spirits as the discussed the weapons on display in the junk shops and the rip off prices of the potions in the item shop; the workings of Seifer and the Galbadian Army was the concern of SeeD's, not of four friends having a good time. For tonight, at least, they were normal teenagers. They even stopped to laugh at some drunk lying in some alleyway.

_Poor guy_, Selphie though, _he's soaking...he must have pissed himself..._

Ever the gentle, caring soul, she made to push him upright against the wall while Aeon stood waiting at the end of the block. Her heart filled with pity as she walked closer to the drunkard, her eyes threatening to shed tears as she contemplated the life of a tramp. But before she'd even reached the drunken alley

"ZELL!"

Quistis rushed passed the shinobu specialist and reached the drunk man first; his red hair was the darkest Selphie had ever seen, she realised, and it clashed hideously with the red in Quistis' outfit...the tattoo in his temple was so out of place when contrasted with the red as well...

_Tattoo? _Selphie panicked, her heart somewhere in her mouth as the realisation hit home _It's Zell!_

The young blond was crying as she bent down beside Quistis, who was mothering her friend while applying Curaga's and potions to the visible bleeds and injuried. Zell sniffed and moaned and howled as the magicks worked through his system, repairing some of the damage; a snapping sound somewhere told them all he had broken something. His hair wasn't red, it was covered in blood, and he hadn't soiled himself, he had vomited...

Selphie found herself crying as she watched Aeon and Irvine shoulder Zell at either side; the blond was too absorbed in his crying to even contemplate walking.

"Take him to Caraway's, we'll be there as soon as we can..." Quistis was saying, her voice broken, catching, her breathing ragged, heavy. "..Selphie, come on."

The blond raced down the alleyway while Selphie's eyes lingered still on her broken friend, before she realised Quistis was running further into that dangerous alleyway. She followed, her cheeks wet, her eyes blurred, but her head pounding; emotions overwhelmed the young girl; love, compassion, fury, vengeance.

If Squall was injured too, there would be hell to pay...

-

The sun glinted off the top of the glass roofs that surrounded him, bathing him in a menacing red glare. The beast before him was not phased, however, even when his blade hovered before him as his mind overtook his body and he found himself surpassing every ability he had ever mastered before. He had gone nowhere in particular, the purple mist intensifying and dispelling every now and again, but now he found himself just a few streets away from where he had left the boy, on a roof where this monstrosity had tried to overpower him.

He smiled as he found his veins alight with flame. With mere thoughts, the lionheart sliced through the air towards the towering demon, and with mere thoughts, the blade struck home, delivering blow after blow to the demon, cutting through his thick brown hide and snapping one of his huge, proud horns. The wounds healed almost instantly, but the sorcerer found pleasure in knowing that for brief moments, this huge monolith of an adversary was unwhole, weakened. Something within him chorused dissonantly and mercilessly; _kill, maim, injure._

The sorcerer smiled as he reigned in his power. He was surprised how easily his magicks were mastered, how simple it was to make his wildest dreams of power the wildest reality. Somewhere inside hid mind, his true self hid, but why bring it to the surface, when this power, this soul could live his life for him, and attain the power of gods, of sorcerers, of Hyne.

Ifrit smiled.

"The one I seek. He is not present."

The GF jumped high in the sky and gathered energy in his right hand, which was raised high above his head and seemed to take light away from the sun itself. The stars seemed to twinkle with this action, the lights on the streets below seemed to dim, as the energy roared in the flame beast's hand. The sorcerer looked up, ready to let this monster go, for now, content that his enemy had – seemingly – retreated.

"You may be useful in the future, however, sorcerer, in the unknown scheme of things."

With astounding force and speed the Messenger from Hell itself descended on him, and with no time to react, dodge or pre-empt the attack, all he could do was take the blow; he felt the power recede, the strength leave him, and once again, he stood, a man. Squall.

A hurtling ball of fire, Ifrit shrank as he got closer and closer to his target, becoming nothing more than a speck of flame, nonetheless packing the heat of suns, and the speed of stars. The flame bored into Squall's temple, emblazoning an elaborate design on the flesh; a flame, or something like a flame, smouldering just under the top layer of his skin.

The teen reeled; all co-ordination left him and the lionheart clattered onto the roof he stood on as he struggled to stay on his feet. Colours merged and the sky melded with the earth as dizziness enveloped him.

"The mark of a worthy adversary, sorcerer..." Ifrit's voice sounded in his head, before the beast appeared before him once again, the only thing before him he could focus on entirely. "...your part in this play remains to be seen."

The GF hurtled once more towards the sky, but this time he lunged up and away from Squall, falling some distance ahead between two buildings onto the Deling streets below.

"Zell..." was all he could think, before he realised Selphie was at his side, and Quistis was racing after the King of Flame.

He collapsed, and he felt Rinoa come to him.

A feather flittered, unnoticed, from his unfurled hand.

-

"This fucker's heavy..."

Aeon sweated under the weight of Zell's limp and crying form. Irvine had ran ahead to see what the noise had been, wary of exposing Zell to anymore injury. The ninja was left with the duty of supporting Zell until the marksman returned, but it was proving difficult, giving his body was more slimline and toned, perfect for his selected fighting style, while Zell embodied the pure bulk of muscle and definition; a difficult bulk to keep upright.

He changed shoulders for what seemed the millionth time when Irvine returned, much to his relief. Until

"AEON! GET DOWN!"

The ninja barely had time to collect his thoughts before a fireball the size of his head came careering behind the tall sniper; he lunged for Zell as Aeon managed to duck and draw his shriuken, ready to take on whoever had sent that hurtling towards them both. His pupils dilated as the orange and red projectile got closer, closer, bringing with it astounding heat and energy.

Thankfully, it passed harmlessly overheard; Irvine dragged Zell, still gibbering, behind an overturned trashcan before drawing two handguns and crawling over to Aeon.

They both sat, senses on full alert, looking for any sign of their adversary.

Nothing was there; the alley smoked a bit and a few poles and pylons had been set alight by the thundering ball, but no sign of another attack, or the attacker, remained.

"I could have sworn it was..."

"Ifrit."

The two boys looked round.

Zell was standing behind them. His face was red, scarlet, his eyes bloodshot and heavy; he looked more depressed than Irvine thought the hyperactive teen capable of. The blood had congealed around a gash in his forehead Quistis hadn't finished curing, his hair was crusted and ugly, his clothes were stained with vomit and blood. He was a wreck, but somehow, something had changed, and he exuded authority. The sense of urgency, perhaps?

"Y-yeah..." Irvine said, suddenly nervous, his face a picture of confusion and worry "...are you okay dude?"

Zell shrugged.

"It'll be Ifrit; he was the only GF I had left junctioned..." His voice was shockingly distant; an echo, a whisper.

"That's not what I – " Irvine began, but the earth shook so violently that he fell backwards where he crouched and his guns flew away from him; Aeon leaped high into the sky, trying to avoid the quake, but was shot quickly back to earth by a swift ember sent from somewhere behind Zell. Zell, who seemed unphased by the attack.

"Sorcerer..."

Zell turned to face Ifrit, the empitome of Fire and Hell. His hands clenched into fists as he wiped the last of his tears away; he had a fight on his hands.

"...you are unaware of what lies at hand here."

They were all surprised; Ifrit usually spoke (well, not usually; occasionally at best) in gruff, animalistic tones, but he sounded affluent, wise, learned. Either he had been playing the party for fools all this time, or something else was controlling his body.

"Why call me sorcerer?" Zell queried; he was intrigued by the demon's apparent hesitancy in attacking, and was surprised to find no sense of fear lingering in the back of his mind. But then, without Squall rooting for him, there wasn't really anything to fear...death could only be a release...

And this purple mist before his eyes; the strength it gave him...

"You are unaware of what lies at hand..." he merely repeated "...you are here for a reason, Sorcerer. Do not disappoint the sands of time or scripts of destiny..."

The GF leaped high into the air and a hoof collided with Zell, full force in the chest. Flying through the air for the second time tonight, Zell reeled from the sheer pain; the smell of burning flesh and the feeling of intense pain in his chest sent his mind into survival mode; he lay motionless on the floor – again. The mist was moving, working, circling his eyes, and he somehow sensed it was willing him to stand...

"I SAID DO NOT DISAPPOINT!" Ifrit repeated, in his more base and feral tones.

Zell found himself upright again, his comrades by his side; the beast's sense of fair play obviously lingered. Even with the chance to decimate them, he wanted an even playing field, and healed them all. Or had the mist had something to do with it? It wasn't there anymore...

"GIVE ME HELL!" The beast roared, baring his fangs in some warped, evil sense of relish; he enjoyed fighting, his wild side – let loose.

Aeon was the first to gather his senses and rush forward. Again and again, he jumped, somersaulted, slashed, hacked, cut; he met Ifrit's strong punches with swift attacks and high leaps, occasionally blasting blizzaga spells to strike simultaneously with his shriuken. Zell noticed that he was a very gifted fighter, agile yet powerful, swift yet strong.

"WELL HELP!" he screamed as he noticed Irvine and Zell, in state of shock.

Zell watched as Irvine snapped out of his reverie and also ran towards the ensuing battle; Aeon was screaming as Ifrit roared, both of them sustaining injury and beginning to enjoy the battle.

"Aeon, jump high!" Irvine yelled, loading both pistols with Fast Ammo; hundred of bullets per second were sent careering through the air, striking Ifrit in the breast, torso, thigh...Aeon, from above, rained another round of Blizzaga, shards of ice falling from his shriuken like snow, with such force that he was kept suspended above the fighting below.

Finally, Zell's senses returned to him as Ifrit sent a surge of energy outwards and upwards; both Irvine and Aeon howled as the blast sent them both flying, not causing too much damage but frustratingly paralyzing. From just beyond the blast radius, Zell jumped high to avoid the fireball heading straight for him, bringing with it the laugh of a crazed demon. Ifrit, at least, was having fun.

Without a GF, Zell had no magic, no strength boosting aids. He had his raw skill, and his passion, which seemed to have been intensified by that mist earlier he neither understood nor recognized. But there was no time to contemplate what it was now.

Irvine was the first to gather himself again, and, having been blowing closer to Ifrit rather than further away, he decided to abandon his gun for the moment and blast the beast with demi spells, flares, and normal (but hardhitting) punches. Aeon was throwing the shriuken from afar, not wanting to get too close, drawing the weapon back to him with attraction magic; he seemed to have an aptitude for obscure spells. He cast protect on the group, somehow managing to cover them all without the triple status, the blue shields appearing before them all simultaneously.

And Zell had his skill. And passion.

He built speed much quicker than he thought he could as he ran forward, using his shoulder as a battering ram to topple the huge devil. Ifrit staggered backwards a few steps, and his laughing suddenly stopped. He seemed taken aback, as if he had expected him to simply watch the fight, as if he knew Zell had no GF left to help him...

"The marked one..."

He looked briefly at Zell's chest as Aeon and Irvine took advantage of his surprise and continued the fighting; Aeon coming in close again and Irvine picking up his guns once more.

Zell looked where Ifrit was looking; and found his shirt burned away from the kick earlier, leaving his skin burned raw; adorned by some weird design of a flame or ember. The blond looked up in anger as Ifrit leered slightly; only to meet the force of Zell's passion once more.

Punch after punch, kick after kick, rush after rush, Zell's stamina seemed inexhaustible as he battered in to Ifrit, hitting again and again with the force of ten men; in conjunction with Aeon's shriuken and Irvine's blizzaga bullets, Ifrit began roaring in agony as opposed to his earlier laughing. Zell felt this power and his heart pumped raw energy around his body; was it aura, or something else? That mist...

"STAND BACK!" Irvine commanded, and Zell parried away from the GF as Aeon leapt backwards to a nearby roof, followed by his shriuken. Irvine dropped the guns and put his hands to his temples; he began to fade into nothingness as he called forth his GF, and Zell felt the tingling sensation that came with invincibility as he watched Ifrit freeze on the spot and a lump of rock rise out of the earth before him, pulled upward by a huge water snake, the dragon; leviathan.

The beautiful markings on the side of the King of the Seas seemed to flow like the water he commanded as his body wriggled majestically upwards. What seemed like forever, Leviathan defied the laws of gravity to pull the limp of rock ever higher, ever steeper. Ifrit's face was terror personified as the dragon melted down and became the water that his body was composed of, and rushed down the slope he had created, towards a cowering Ifrit. The tsunami hit with unstoppable force, before disappearing along with the rock just beyond Ifrit's body.

He writhed and thrashed in the water for a short time before suddenly stopping when the three friends found themselves once again in the fray.

"He's weak, we can get him now!"

Ifrit looked dazed, confused, hurt and defeated. Aeon sliced him aimlessly and Zell headbutted the monster once before he fell on his back, black blood splurting out of his mouth and high into the air.

He looked dead at Zell.

"You've...freed...me..."

His hands went limp, his flame coloured hair greyed rapidly, and all at once, his body caved in on itself, just as Cerberus' had done.

With the death of his last junctioned GF, Zell retreated once more to his childish, crying self; the pressure of Squall's rejection and the unknown GF rebellions taking their toll. The purple mist returned for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving the world a scarier, lonelier place than it had been a moment ago.

With his new 'tattoo' on show for the world to see, Aeon and Irvine took him by a shoulder each as they had done earlier, leading him to Caraway's Mansion.

Neither spoke; their thoughts drowned out by Zell's tears.

_Kind of slow...but fast chapter lol_

_R&R please?_


	14. Validation in Valhalla

**Validation in Valhalla**

Selphie and Quistis were fussing over a comatose Squall when Aeon and Irvine eventually managed to drag Zell into Caraway's front room. The General was nowhere to be seen and the scotch bottle on the desk was empty; he must have ordered his chauffer to take him to the nearest bar, Aeon thought. He was bored of Irvine questioning why they hadn't just gone to the nearest hotel; to him, it was obvious that they wanted to avoid any awkward questions, and drawing any attention to themselves wasn't exactly the best idea right now.

This couldn't have happened at a worse time; the eve of their meeting with Seifer.

Zell slumped in the armchair, his wailing having quietened to a half-heartened sob; the ninja was unsure whether he was recovering from his sudden lapse of depression or merely too tried to put as much energy into his self pity. He looked from him to Squall, and he suddenly felt strangely out of place.

"I'm gonna go look for Caraway..." he muttered, to which Quistis merely nodded and Selphie and Irvine completely ignored. He wasn't part of this group; not really.

He closed the door to the living room and looked at himself in the great mirror that dominated the hall.

The purple wallpaper, the white decorations, the expensive furniture. And then him; staring back. An enigma, even to himself.

_What are you looking at?_ He seethed. _An orphan. A runt. An unwanted blot on society. Garden was the best thing for you, and even then, you fucked it up. It took you three entrance exams and four blowjobs to get into the G-Garden elite squad, and another couple of handjobs before you were even considered for Caraway's team..._

His eyes welled with tears. He had never belonged.

_And now, you fight with the great SeeD's of Balamb, vanquishers of the ultimate evil. A runt orphan like you has no right to stand even in their shadows, let alone fight at their side._

It was like the Aeon in the mirror had come to life; to taunt his bodily self, to remind him of his abject failure.

_They don't want you. You're mother didn't want you. The only people that do want you want a quick fuck and nothing more. Why were you born, Aeon?_

Setting out from the front door he supposed that with Caraway he had a sense of purpose – whether it was eradicating Seifer or carrying the drunken form of the Galbadian military officer home – he had meaning. He sniffed back a tear before he walked past the guard at the entrance; the wolf whistle he was used to. The feeling of self-loathing?

That was new.

-

Selphie mopped Zell's brow and tried to make out what he was mumbling through his sobs. Nothing coherent; nothing to make sense of, but nonetheless she was worried by the blond's apparent euphoria. He had the same mark on his chest that Squall had the side of his head; a black as night flame circled by a lightning bolt; Zell's was a little deeper and a little more detail was visible, but in essence it was the same mark, the same burn.

The two were linked now; not in the way Zell hoped, she sighed to herself, but they were linked.

"I don't understand this at all..." Quistis whispered to the silent room while she attended to Squall; Irvine had decided to let the girls tend to them and had headed out after Aeon. "The GF shouldn't be turning on their masters; it's only ever happened once before..."

Selphie continued wiping Zell's head, and tried to clean some of his hair, but until he woke up and was able to take a bath, it looked like it was going to have to remain as it was; covered and hardened by Zell's own blood.

"When was that?"

Quistis put the cloth she had been cooling Squall's forehead with in the basin at her side and sighed. "Adel, just after her ascension to power..." she returned the cloth to the scarred teen's brow "...she still relied on GF power more than her inherent powers; she openly claimed that she wasn't as strong as she could be as a sorceress, and without help from Odine, she was next to no different from ordinary warriors..." She stood and sat in the chair beside the sofa Squall lay on "...but one day, when she was leading an expedition to Cetra, she apparently called one of her most trustworthy GF – Bahamut, I think – to help her get rid of a huge beast that managed to kill half a dozen soldiers...before it turned on her, blowing the remaining soldiers in her party to pieces and leaving her for dead. Some people theorise that it was Odin's Shrine that she was looking for, and others suggest it was Bahamut that ruined the place..."

Selphie sat up for a moment, interested in the story. "So Bahamut fought her?"

Quistis closed her eyes and cuddled into a cushion; tired. "No. Adel's powers took over and managed to warp her away from the scene; she was found on the outskirts of the Presidential Palace by Odine, who persuaded her to stop using the GF altogether. With no survivors from Odin's Shrine left, no one knows where Bahamut went...though we found him in the Deep Sea Research Centre..."

"If there were no survivors..." Selphie wondered aloud "...how do we know it happened?"

"Well..." Quistis replied, stifling a yawn "...Adel ordered the Esthar soldiers to stop junctioning GF and employed the Galbadian's way of using magic; special magick stones Odine himself had researched in his time at University. She issued a full public order that GF were not to be introduced to Esthar society, and when the people started to question her, she published an account of what happened in one of the big newspapers of the time...we have a copy in the Garden somewhere..."

"So...The GF are reacting to a sorcerer...?"

"That's the only time it's happened before..." she made herself more comfortable in the chair. "...looks like we were right about Squall..."

Selphie let herself retreat into her thoughts for a while. She looked helplessly as Zell descended into sleep, tears still streaking down his cheeks, and glanced over at Squall, who she both pitied and feared.

"Wait..." she suddenly asked "...the GF that have attacked were all junctioned to Zell, not Squall...and what about the sorceress powers turns the GF mad...?"

Quistis' snoring filled the room.

With a head full of questions, she decided she would turn in as well. Throwing a shrug on the floor she took two cushions form the sofa – Squall wasn't using them all – and made a makeshift bed on the floor; big enough for her and Irvine. She presumed Aeon already had a room somewhere in the Mansion, and she was sure she could find one for herself, but she didn't feel like going to sleep with no one else around her.

She lay awake for ages, before resorting to a sleep spell, her mind filling with vivid dreams of winged angels and devils, of sorcerers and magic, Zell, Squall and – oddly – Adel.

-

Aeon had been right. The "Valhalla" was a particularly seedy bar found in the Red Light District, and it had become a particular favourite of his employer of late. He stood silently at the side of the bar as the drunken Caraway regaled tales of the army to other leches; fellow ex-military men, a previous bodyguard of Vinzer Deling, a retired pimp; the bar was increasingly popular with men wallowing in their own, unrecognised, self-importance, the ninja realised.

He nursed the same drink for hours, never once bringing it to his lips. He was there only to ensure Caraway's safe arrival at home when he decided to leave; he didn't need to pretend to enjoy the next to naked waitresses, the sleazy pole-dancing shows or the horrifically tacky music. He had a job to do; he had a purpose.

_You'd have more purpose if you got up on the stage and pole danced like the sluts already up there..._

He thought of Squall and Zell every now and again; how on two occasions he had fought for them and helped them, and how he still managed, somehow, to feel singled out by the group. Sure, Quistis he'd only just met. But Irvine and Selphie; he'd been with them for a few days now, and surely even Squall could acknowledge someone more after two days of acquaintance.

_Because you don't belong. Runt, orphan, slut. You don't deserve other people, you don't deserve love. You deserve to be overlooked, to be used, abused. That's your purpose..._

He sighed. When this business with Seifer was over, the day after tomorrow, he would go back to his life as a mercenary, he decided then and there.

A few scuffles broke out throughout the night, but none involved Caraway so none involved Aeon. Even when that burly, hairy geezer tried to grope the young blond haired bunny waitress, he wasn't involved.

He had a job to do. He had his purpose.

And his self-scathing thoughts.

-

Irvine wandered around the Red Light District out of habit; his old haunts were the only place of Deling he really knew well, so he was automatically drawn to the seedy underbelly of the prestigious Deling City. He knew he would never find Aeon, the master of espionage, and he doubted Caraway would be hanging around a place like this.

He wondered why he was there, what he had seen all those years of adolescence.

He loved Selphie now he was with her; sure, he still had his kinky, experimental side, but he respected the spunky young girl. She demanded respect, in her own way. With a smile, he remembered how bossy she could be...in and out of the bedroom...

Mindlessly he walked into his 'favourite' bar and ordered his 'favourite' drink – the Pussy Cocktail. He didn't know whether he liked it because of its name or not, but it certainly wasn't the taste – a horrible mixture of vodka, Malibu, something that tasted awfully like ochu poison and, oddly enough, raw potato.

Seated in the back of the bar, he noticed nothing but the sexy young girl sliding provocatively round the pole on centre stage. He shook his head; somehow he knew this would be his last visit to the Valhalla.

Boy, Selphie sure had changed him; for the better, he was sure.

Trying to down his drink in one, not wanting to have wasted the money, he failed miserably and ended up splurting it all over a man all in black he hadn't noticed before.

"What the fu-..." Aeon looked down with an angry look that quickly turned into a smile.

Irvine returned the grin. "Having fun?"

"Pu-leeez!" Aeon returned, weakly, pointing to Caraway. "Just doing my job."

Irvine laughed lightly. "Need any company?"

Aeon shrugged his shoulders; his thoughts seemed to back down as he considered Irvine's gesture of friendship. Maybe he was liked? Appreciated?

_Don't be so stupid, Aeon._

"You really helped us. With pandemonium the other day, and Ifrit." Aeon looked, disbelievingly at Irvine. "I don't know what we'd have done without you. We were all talking about how great a help you've been earlier..."

Aeon was speechless.

"I...I only did what I thought was right..."

Irvine smiled. "Two screwdrivers." He nodded to the scantily clad waitress. She was posing as a bunny. He was dressed like a harlot. "Y'know, after this business with Seifer I think you could come back to Balamb with us...if you wanted?"

Aeon smiled. But his brain scolded him.

"Um..."

"Or is Caraway such a great boss...?" Irvine smiled as he knew Aeon hated Caraway.

Aeon decided.

"I'd like that."

The two stayed at the bar 'til well after closing; the lock in had been instigated, surprise surprise, by Caraway, and it was only after a towering biker had threatened to "blacken both his eyes" that the General allowed Aeon and Irvine to escort him home.

-

Carrying Caraway home with Irvine lifted Aeon's spirits no end.

Maybe the life of a mercenary wasn't calling him back, just yet.

_Aeon needed a back story, I'm trying to both link him to the group and distance him from them; he's only known them a few days, things like that would still be playing on his mind before someone could settle him. Irvine seemed to fit the role of counsel, I dunno why :P _

_R&R Please? I'm REALLY eager to find out what people are thinking now that I'm back into the story again ___


	15. In Your Eyes

**In your eyes.**

Sun flitted through the windows and gave the room a homely, cosy feel. Birds singing filled the air and a cool breeze blew silently and gently through, bringing in scents of the outside world; the roses and the lilies planted just outside, the smell of freshly baked bread from the bakery across the road, and faintly, the salt of the sea a little to the north. His ears, flooded with sounds of cars, buses, hustle, bustle – city life – buzzed slightly.

He rubbed his eyes as his senses momentarily reeled; he felt like he had been submerged under water and had only just resurfaced – everything hit him at once. He struggled to open his eyes against the domineering sunlight, to take in all the smells of the overpowering Deling City streets, to listen to everything going on at once, and the same time, nothing in particular.

He felt like a new born baby, only just coming to terms with life.

His sleep had been troubled. Rubbing his eyes he remembered a particularly nasty scene in which something had hit him, stabbed him, sliced at him, something had tried as hard as it could to kill him. He vaguely remembered being trapped in some black liquid...or was it solid...as he watched some people he knew but couldn't remember fight for him...or was it against him?

And then he remembered; Seifer. It was today.

He gulped. Facing his life long adversary was one thing. Facing Squall would be another.

The events of last night played over in his head. The lust, excitement, happiness...the pain, rejection, despair. His heart stung.

The real world invading his thoughts soon erased what little traces of the dreams remained, until all he could remember was that he had been remembering his dreams, before he put his hand to his hair and found crystalised blood clinging to every strand and bang.

Heading to the bathroom without waking anyone, Zell almost felt like he had had a good night's sleep.

-

When she noticed Zell was missing, she managed to jolt herself out of the lingering paralysis of sleep and pull her senses to full alert; Squall still lay were she and Quistis had left him, Irvine lay, naked aside from a pair of black briefs, at her feet while Quistis was still in the exact same position as she had been last night.

Noticing Aeon scrunched in one of the corners, she felt bad for not preparing a bed.

But that feeling was quickly overrun by the absence of an injured and emotional Zell. She pulled on her black skinny jeans and yesterday's white tank top; she could take more time getting dressed later. Her hair a mess of tangles and bobbles, yesterday's mascara running down her face, she wasn't surprised when Caraway, hungover, walked into the kitchen just as she was leaving, and had to double take. Maybe he would blame last night's obvious binge; the smell of alcohol on his breath told Selphie he would believe much worse of the world in that state.

From room to room she trawled, silently cursing Caraway's unneeded, and largely undeserved, wealth, for even if Julia and Rinoa were still here living with him, it would take the army he had commanded to fill the place.

Predictably, on the last floor she checked, she found the largest bathroom, the door slightly ajar. Steam poured from the crack between door and frame and the sound of running water flowed out into the corridor alongside one of the most beautiful voices the shinobu artist had ever heard.

She edged closer, and was almost embarrassed by Zell's naked form shaving in front of the giant mirror while his bath ran; amost, but he being gay and her best friend, she allowed herself the voyeurism.

_Tripped along many stones,  
Enough to say,_

_I found my own way,  
I don't know where to go,  
Couldn't see - where it leads..._

Selphie recognised the words and the melody, but she was sure it had been released by a female a few years ago; she had never liked it much but hearing from Zell...she believed in the lyrics, how he felt, and she managed to enjoy the song; enjoy it, and feel sorry for her friend, and the artist she couldn't remember.

_Making castles in the sand,_

_Afraid no one else would hold my hand,_

_I'm stained from the world..._

_Sad, sad, sad little girl..._

Zell made a choking sound as he cut his cheek slightly. Even though the mirror was starting to cloud over from being subjected to the steam for too long, Selphie could see the red of his blood pick out the bloodshot of his eyes; the blond was starting to cry as he sang.

_But I see in your eyes, You wear no disguise_

_Help me find my way!_

_I'm like a bird in the sky,_

_You helped me to fly; fly away_

_Back home._

Selphie didn't know whether to start crying, to walk away and leave Zell alone with his feelings, or run in and give him a hug. Part of her wanted to run downstairs and kick Squall a good kick up the arse; coma or no coma.

_Holding on to memories,  
Often scared,  
Of what I'd see,  
And then you came,  
And rescued me,  
And I'm okay,  
I'm okay!_

The mirror had completely clouded over, but Selphie didn't need to see her friends face to tell he was hurting. He'd stopped singing, and only coughing, spluttering noises were joining the noise of the water now. His back arched and fell as he breathed deeply, his razor hit the sink as he gave up trying to shave and when he ended up falling to the floor, hugging himself as he cried, Selphie made up her mind.

She walked in, unashamed of Zell's (impressive) nakedness, and hugged him from behind.

It took ten minutes for him to stop crying; after which she promised to wait by the door while he finally got himself cleaned up.

_I just wanted to put in a bit about Zell's feelings; if the story's moving too slow let me know!_

_R&R as always please _

_- note; In your eyes - Anastacia; I DO NOT own this song, unfortunately :P_


	16. Smelling Salts

**Smelling Salts.**

The smelling salts were strong, and jolted Quistis out of the lingering traces of sleep. Sandalwood and peppermint fused, culminating in an overpowering yet calming scent that could, supposedly, disrupt any slumber. She had slipped to the perfumery just down the street when she woke, deciding it inappropriate to stay too long in a room where Irvine lay naked, unashamedly, with everything pointing distinctly skyward. The salts had cost a few gil; that image had cost Quistis considerable angst. To look or not to look...even steely instructors had urges sometimes...

She walked up the path to Caraway's Manor quicker after her infusion of awakeness from the salts, worried that Irvine might still be compromising his decency, hoping Selphie had sorted him, but eager to wake Squall up. She had to take control, before it could be unceremoniously relinquished from her when Seifer gathered them; she would make sense of it all. The GF, Rinoa's messages to Squall, the powers Squall had inherited, Zell being called 'Sorcerer'.

Her dreams had been busy and hurried, she had ran through all she had learned since she'd got here, trying to piece together the puzzle and find a solution, but it eluded her. She would need Squall and Zell to tell her everything.

They were still there; Irvine in all his impressive morning glory, Squall in his sorry state on the couch. Aeon was in the corner, but he looked as though he was waking now, and she shot him a friendly smile when he looked up as she entered the room. Selphie and Zell were nowhere around, but there was water running upstairs, maybe they were in the bathroom.

She crossed to Squall with the bottle of salts, shaking it slightly to bring the smells together. She carefully and tenderly placed another couple of pillows under her friends neck, sparking Aeon's interest, before she uncorked the bottle and held it under the scarred teen's nose. Aeon stood, curious to see what she was doing.

When nothing happened, Quistis furrowed her brown and put her hands on her hips. It wasn't right...

Until she realised Squall was breathing through his mouth, through either habit or injury, and so he couldn't had smelt anything. She quickly cast cura on his face, just in case there was a reason for it, then waved Aeon over.

"Hold his mouth shut" she told him, calmly.

"What?" The ninja cried, a little loudly for Irvine, who pulled a pillow over his ears but made no effort to hid his exposed body. _Ever the confident show off_ Quistis thought as she noticed.

"Just so I can wake him, don't worry..." she smiled and nudged him playfully "...it'll be fine, I won't hurt him"

Aeon looked worried but pushed Squall's lower jaw until his mouth was closed and held it there; they could here Squall struggle for breath for a second in his sleep (or coma, whatever) before going back to breathing through his nose.

And then Quistis place the bottle back under his nose.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. And then...

-

Selphie looked worryingly towards the stairs when Quistis screamed, but Zell still wasn't out the bathroom and she knew she had to make sure he was okay before she could leave.

She had passed the time by using some of Julia or Rinoa's old makeup and hair product (which she found while sneaking about the doors around the bathroom) and making herself more presentable in a mirror in the hall. She looked great and felt wide awake; aside from worrying for Zell all she could think about was how hungry she was, so she tried to pass the time by focusing instead on the implications of Squall being a sorcerer. She couldn't help but feel...afraid.

The scream had snapped her out of her thoughts, so she shouted downstairs to see what was wrong before she had to leave the bathroom door.

-

"Yeah, I'm okay Selph!" Quistis called up the stairwell.

The smashed bottle of smelling salts lay beside Caraway's Desk, Irvine was trying to cover himself by making the cover he had as a sarong, while Aeon put away his shriuken. He had brung it out in surprise, startled by Squall's somewhat OTT awakening.

The gunblade specialist sat upright on the couch; his hand was bleeding from having punched the bottle of salts out of Quistis' hand, but he didn't feel anything and was busying himself with picking the bigger shards of glass out of his cuts.

"Oh for goodness sake..."

Quistis walked over and made to raise her hand to cast Cura, but Squall pulled his hand away from her and took on a look of horror.

"No!" He shouted, holding his cut arm full away from Quistis, his other raised to keep her from getting too close. He was sweating slightly and his breathing was quick and laboured; his eyes were wide and his pupils dilated.

He looked terrified.

"Squall...?" Irvine began, walking over as well, before, once again

"NO!" Squall moved his uninjured arm to keep Irvine back. "Don't get too close...and no magic..."

He looked from Quistis and Irvine, his eyes flitting over Aeon momentarily, before he cupped his slashed hand in his other.

"What is this about?" Quistis asked, worriedly. Her arms settled on her hips and Irvine crossed his arms over his well built chest, clearly disturbed. Aeon merely smiled, slightly amused by Squall's somewhat loony behaviour.

"Quistis, I...I..." a tear trickled down his cheek "...I hurt Zell...I..."

She crossed her arms now. Sternly, her gaze penetrated Squall's and the scarred teen flinched. The instructor was commanding authority, a mixture of confusion, fatigue, anger, culminating in a very unhappy Quistis. She was trying to be sympathetic to Squall, and if she could have done it any other way, she would have. But Seifer was arriving in Deling today. It had to be sorted.

"SELPHIE!" she shouted up the stairs. Aeon jumped. Irvine dropped his sarong. Squall flinched some more. "GET ZELL DOWN HERE! THIS ALL NEEDS TO BE SORTED!"

Her cheeks flushed. She wasn't used to raising her voice, one of her alleged "shortcomings" as an instructor, but when she did, she did it well. She heard shuffling upstairs, and from the shocked looks on the three boys' faces, she knew she had made herself clear; this was getting sorted.

Calmly, she sat on an armchair and crossed her leg.

"Irvine, get dressed. You and Aeon need to go and stock up on the supplies..."

Irvine pulled his sarong back up, while Squall and Aeon both tried to avert their gazes from Irvine's very dominant and very impressive manhood. He went into the kitchen to get changed, sudden modesty gripping him.

"We're going to go over the plan for later on one more time, and then while they go stock up, we'll get all this over and done with..."

Quistis was talking specifically to Squall; the teen was shaking in his seat, biting his nails, shaking his knees, nerves obviously claiming him. And she felt for him, she really did. But.

_Be cruel, to be kind._

Rinoa had said it once, after she had pulled up Squall for not showing enough sympathy to Zell in the East Academy jungle. She smiled. People remember the weirdest things at the weirdest times.

_Things are as they should be, Squall_

A feather flitted across his field of vision, quickly, quietly. And Squall realised that Rinoa had inspired Quistsis'.

Both of them were right; this all needed sorted. Sorcerer or no, Squall was still their friend; Zell's friend.

-

They were all sitting uncomfortably on the various chairs in the living room. Quistis sat across from Squall while Aeon and Irvine sat on one of the leather couches under one of the massive windows. Zell couldn't have got any further from Squall; he sat behind the desk, back resting on the wall, while Selphie held his hand and sat on the desk itself.

Squall smiled as he realised Selphie would always be there for Zell, even if he couldn't be.

"Right." Quistis began. "First things first..." she cleared her voice and stood up. She turned her gaze to the dark ninja. "...Aeon. You and me are the elements of surprise here; Seifer thinks I'm dead and doesn't know you exist. Your plan is even more credible now that I can help. As soon as Squall and the others are inside Seifer's aircraft, we'll get in by any means possible...We'll bomb a hole in the side if we have to..."

"We won't need to..."Aeon said, confidently "...I'm good at what I do. It's what I'm made for."

The ninja smiled slightly, and Quistis returned the gesture. "I'm glad to hear it. However, the last time someone got that cocky..." she looked at Irvine "...nerves still got the better of them..."

Irvine blushed and looked at the floor. He hadn't seized up like he had on the night they tried to kill Edea ever since; but he couldn't help think the plan would've worked had he only acted quicker.

"At least Edea wasn't really evil..." he muttered; his only solace.

"Oh! I didn't mean anything, Irvine..." Quistis blushed now. "...anyway. Once we're in, we'll trail you guys. You won't be alone!" Squall nodded; Selphie smiled, Zell's eyes watered. "Once you get into wherever it is you'll meet Seifer, Aeon and I will try to listen in on what's happening. As best we can, we'll judge when to rush in an surprise Seifer and his mad woman helper. Remember though, with the switch junctioned, any of you can contact me telepathically if you think you need help right away; I've junctioned Tonberry, Siren and Quezacotl, so just contact them and they'll get the message to me!"

Everyone nodded. No one had thought about when Aeon should surprise Seifer before now; Quistis was obviously more of a strategist than any of them.

"Once we rush in, do whatever you can to get Seifer and this woman thing into a fight with you. Call GF, use magic, slice, shoot, punch, kick, bite, scratch, slap, shout. Anything. When I run in I'll make sure I'm in aura, I'll blow the place up a bit with Ray-Bomb, and Aeon can make use of the confusion to grab the Crown from Seifer. That sound okay to all of you?"

Everyone nodded again, apart from Squall.

_Will it work now?_ He thought to himself, noticing that Quistis' plan was slightly different from Caraway's. He jumped slightly and his eyes widened as he heard a reply.

_Everything is as it should be._

He was shot back to Quistis as she carried on.

"After Aeon has the crown, he'll use his special attraction magic to pull on each of our weapons slightly; that's when we run. Do anything to escape. Squall, you have Bahamut junctioned, he listens to you most – if it comes to it, ask him to fly us out." Squall nodded absently. Bahamut was always junctioned. "After we get out...well, we'll just do what impulse says then"

She smiled slightly.

"A bit much, a bit too early?"

Everyone nodded, and she smiled.

"We'll go over it one more time before we set off for Seifer; he can't be in Deling yet though, I'm sure his aircraft would make some commotion..." Selphie nodded. She was being quiet for Zell's sake, who was being quiet for his own sake. "..Well Aeon, Irvine? Go buy what you need to buy..."

The two guys stood, Irvine giving Selphie a brief kiss on the lips before he joined Aeon at the door.

"We won't be too long, babe" He assured Selphie. They both waved before they closed the door behind them and an audible "_Who put Quistis in charge again?"_ on Aeon's part force a giggle out of Selphie and Quistis.

Squall and Zell looked anywhere but each other.

"Now, you too..." the blonde said, losing her smile a little. "...we need to sort this. Selphie, take Zell upstairs somewhere and just get him to talk; he'll feel better."

Zell nodded; he wanted to talk things out, to say anything he thought he should. Selphie saw him agree and stood, still holding his hand. Squall suddenly flashed with jealousy.

"I'll try and get Squall to talk as well..." Quistis said as Selphie and Zell hit the door to the hall. Squall never took his eyes off their locked hands once, a scowl on his face. "Do you know you're doing that?" Quistis asked.

Squall forced himself to look at her. She was staring intently at his right hand; an orb of pure energy had appeared, crackling blue and white. Lightening.

"Seems powers are emotional after all..."

Squall's eyes widened again and the orb disappeared. He was frightened. He was confused.

He put his hands to his eyes and started to breathe deeply.

It always had to happen to him.

_Okay! The story's been completely revised so go back and read it again if you've been following it, I've changed somethings and added extra information in places!_

_  
R&R please!_


	17. Zell's Issues

**Zell's Issues**

_Note: I rewrote chapters 8-16! I've put in more detail and things, I'd appreciate it if you could go back and give any feedback at all!_

Selphie and Zell retreated to an opulent bedroom situated directly above the main living room. The verdana that was accessed through two magnificent French doors was bathed in magnificent sunlight and surrounded by delicately planted shrubs and a black iron fence. The red marble tiles were lined with red grout that gave the area a warm and inviting feel; a feeling accentuated by the dainty white and glass table surrounded by four equally dainty white iron chairs.

The silk curtains hanging before both the French doors were transparent and hanging loosely from the silver curtain rails, and they blew about slightly in the gentle breeze, giving the bedroom a welcome draft and every so often letting in a birds song or even, if a particularly strong gust blew through the curtains, the scent of the perfumery down the road; roses, white musk, lavender, citrus fruits, aromatic oils...

The room was powder blue and adorned with whiter than white wooden furniture; the white bed was strewn with light and sky blue scatter cushions, and a grey quilt lay too neatly folded to be as carelessly thrown over as it tried to appear. The full length mirror of the walk in wardrobe to their left shone Selphie and Zell back at themselves; Selphie in a black baggy jumper with white short shorts and knee length boots; her hair was poker straight and topped with a white beret style hat. She looked good, and she commented on it.

"Fiiiiiiine!" She said aloud, flashing the peace sign at her reflection, trying to squeeze a laugh, or at least a smile, from her blond companion.

But his reflection didn't change; his eyes were still bloodshot and his hair, normally perfectly styled with wax, gel, clay, straighteners, whatever, sat unbelievably messily atop his paling face; the blond mass stuck out at odd angles, puffy, fluffy, carelessly. His eyes had black circles around them, not black eyes, but tired eyes, and he obviously hadn't cared what he wore; odd socks, three quarter lengths rolled up to different parts of either leg, a jumper with holes around the neck (how did he even own that jumper? Selphie wondered).

The spunky shinobu artist's smile fell slightly as she grasped her best friend's hand and whispered "Let's sit in the sunlight, doll."

Zell nodded and grunted his consent, and made slowly for the veranda, as though facing the biggest foe imaginable.

-

They had sat in silence for five minutes before Zell had decided he had to get the weight off his chest. He poured his heart out to Selphie, his worries and fears mingling with the bird song and the scents, his misery mingling with the sunlight and the gentle breeze. Selphie just listened, she didn't need to talk, she knew that Zell needed to hear himself speak out loud just as much as she did.

"And it's not like I didn't like Rinoa, ya know?" He said, his eyes brimming with tears, his cheeks stinging "We were great mates! And I wasn't jealous at all when she and Squall got together, I was happy for them man!"

Selphie simply nodded. She noticed that it was Sandalwood blowing in from the perfumery now.

"And...And I dunno why...But I feel like I'm betraying her. I don't want her to hate me, and I don't want Squall to..." he sniffed, a tear streaking down his cheek as the sun shone particularly bright for a moment, catching the glistening teardrop most beautifully "...to hate me even more..."

He held his head in his hands for a moment, taking deep breaths. Crying.

"And I'm afraid that Squall ends up hating me. We're really close, like...like I've never been close to anyone like that before...though you're an exception, clearly..." he added hastily, touching his friend's knee and managing a brief smile "...but I don't ever want to have to be without him; I need him to talk to as a friend, to shut me up when I need it, to shout at me when I need it..." Again, another tear. Another breeze; another breath of sandalwood. "..But I want him to love me more. Last night, when we kissed- when he kissed me..." he closed his eyes and the smile widened "...it was like I was flying. I was on top the world, the most powerful thing on the planet. He made me feel more complete, more whole, more accepted, than I've ever felt in my whole life. That's how I know for definite now that I love him...but..."

Selphie moved her chair closer to Zell's and leaned her head on her friend's shoulder. Her beret fell off. She didn't care.

"...When he turned on me...when he punched me..." Zell descended into tears; so suddenly that Selphie jumped. The blond was howling, tears streaming down his face as he fought with his own breath to speak "...it was like i had the heart ripped out of me, all my strength was gone. I couldn't do anything, and I didn't feel like I would ever do anything again. Without Squall, I just felt so...so helpless, so unwanted..."

A particularly loud cry told Selphie she had to hug him. He nuzzled her shoulder as she cooed in his ear and whispered softly "_It's alright. Everything will work out_"

"...And I hate him for that. For making me feel like I need him..." he gasped through the tears, his eyes stinging, his cheeks aching "...but it makes me love him as well; needing him makes me so strong...but so weak..."

He was silent, aside from the odd sob, as he nuzzled Selphie's should and grasped her waist in a powerful embrace. He was leaning on her more than he'd leaned on anyone, and she was coping unbelievably well under the strain. What would he do without her?

As he started to calm down, he felt the breeze brush his soaking wet eyes and the chill that came with it invigorated him. The sandalwood scent it carried soothed him.

He stopped crying and he sat upright again.

He composed himself.

-

Selphie was still rubbing his knee as he spoke about what he would do from now on.

"It never happened. Last night was a nightmare, it didn't happen. I'll take things as they come from now, but they won't get me down. What happens, happens for a reason...Rinoa said that once. And I believe her. Things will work out, however they need to..."

He seemed to be convincing himself, but Selphie agreed; it was no good getting so down about it.

"It's the best thing to do, babe" she smiled. "Remember you've got me, and Quistis and Irvine and Aeon as well now. We'll be here for you." Zell returned the smile and held her hand. "And I know Squall will be, as well..."

Zell nodded slightly. "I hope so."

His eyes were still red, his hair, still a mess, and the wind still carried that sandalwood smell.

But he looked different now; stronger, healthier. Better.

-

_Kinda making this up as I go along, I didn't make a plan for what I wanted to happen in this chapter; I just need Zell to get out of the black hole I think. Ideas?_

_R&R as always please, I'll try to update quickly!_


	18. Squall's Issues

**Squall's Issues. Quistis' Issue?**

Quistis looked sternly over her glasses at her star pupil – the commander of her Garden. She coughed a couple of times to try and get a reaction from him but he had retreated back behind his wall and only occasionally met her glances and coughs with a stoic "....Whatever." He hugged a cream and gold cushion tightly, one leg tucked safely under him while the other sat bolt upright to his right; his brow furrowed as he hid his eyes behind his fringe and his knuckles were white from gripping the cushion too tightly.

From the open window behind the scarred teen came the scents of the perfumery, roses, lilies, jasmine, patchouli, sandalwood. And birds song, and sunshine.

The blond whip mistress was getting bored; she was trying the 'good cop' tact – let him talk in his own time, let him guide the conversation, let him ready himself – but at this rate, his own time was never. She massaged her forehead with her thumb and index finger, closing her eyes praying for the answer. Why had Rinoa died? Why hadn't she been able to save her? Rinoa would have helped. Rinoa was so much better....

"You're not worse or better than Rinoa, Quistis..." Squall said, as though reading her thoughts. He had lifted his eyes, slightly, and he gazed at her through watery eyes. The blond started; confused. "I don't know where this is coming from, but....she....she doesn't blame you...." Squall tore his eyes from Quistis and focused instead on the glass coffee table separating them "...and sh-she....she doesn't blame me..." he was started to well with tears that he refused to let fall; a light was flickering to life inside him, a purple light, and with its radiance came a clarity that had been missing, that he had been longing for. He hadn't a clue what had triggered it, who had triggered it. But it was like a geyser opening for the first time, a rush of sheer emotion pushing higher and higher through his body, filling him with peace, calm, tranquillity, grief, sadness. A solitary tear on his cheek, he kept on "What happened, happened for a reason; she knows that now and she accepts it...."

Quistis, too was threatening tears. Her eyes were turning pink as she suppressed her instinct to cry; tears were for weak people who relinquished control and Quistis Trepe never let anything take control. She railed against her emotions and tried to maintain her authoritative demeanour, but cracks were showing; her breathing was shallow and her tongue was curled so that it's tip grazed her lip; a coping mechanism employed by many teachers.

She stood and took to walking circles as she listened to Squall. She took a deep breath; another coping mechanism, and inhaled the mucky scent of the sandalwood. It had taken prevalence over the other smells, for some reason.

"Quistis, we can't keep beating ourselves up. We were powerless, and we weren't prepared...." Squall was on his feet too, the safety net of the cushion forgotten "...and God I hate myself for it..." he sagged his shoulder "...but I can only make up for it now, right?"

"I-I'm meant to be helping you, here, Squall..." Quistis replied, her eyes inching ever closer to tears.

"But you are!" Squall smiled, his eyes letting a few more tears out "I dunno why....but....but you're feelings are the same as mine and helping you is helping me! Helping you help me is helping you! Don't you see Quistis....." he let more tears fall and his voice clogged up slightly "....we're doing the same thing to ourselves; going over and over, reliving every moment that we think could have saved Rinoa...when she couldn't be saved!" More tears, and Quistis walked to the window, shaking her head. "...And I wish she could have been! But there's a greater power, Quistis, everything happens for a reason and we have to start believing that Rinoa's death happened for a good reason..."

Squall wiped his cheeks; he couldn't remember that last time he had been so honest with his feelings, or the last time he had cried so sincerely. His feelings of guilt and grief were being suppressed as the geyser still fuelled him; the light that had been flickering now shone brightly inside. The world took on a purple glow, a warm, inviting glow.

"Quistis...."

He put his hands on his friend's shoulder, and she finally gave in. With a heaving sob her shoulders sagged and her head fell into her hands; Squall smiled and let more of his own tears fall.

"I....I could've done something...If I'd only been quicker....." The cracks were becoming craters as Quistis headed fully for a nervous breakdown. The sobs were coming quicker and louder and the tears were falling harder and wetter. Her body quaked as she faced her own demons. All with Squall, inexplicably calm, with his hand on her shoulder.

Neither of them noticed the feathers that seemed to be raining from Squall's free hand; or the transparent wings that had grown from his shoulder blades.

-

They had decided to sit back on the sofa when they had both cried enough. They had small smiles on their faces and they had reminisced about particularly poignant "Rinoa moments", like when she scolded Squall in the forest, or when she stormed off in Timber, or when she faced Edea alone. They remembered a strong and powerful woman, not a strong and powerful sorceress.

"But Squall..." Quistis began, about twenty minutes after they'd both stopped crying. Her eyes were still bloodshot, one reason Quistis never cried, but she didn't feel so weighed down by everything that had happened recently. "...what about Zell?"

Squall swallowed hard and sat forward so his elbow rested on his thighs and his hands cupped his head. He sighed, as if searching within himself for the answer.

"I....I honestly don't know Quistis...." came his quiet reply. "...I don't know if he can forgive me...I don't know if I can forgive myself...."

This time, no purple glow descended and washed away his feelings of guilt. What he had done he had done for no reason, he had done as a sorcerer, as someone ruled by his emotions. He didn't know if he could fill the role of sorcerer and still show love; he doubted he was as strong as Rinoa had been.

"...I guess we'll just take it as it comes....But I know I need to apologise...I need to tell him that I lo-"

The room shook, and Quistis fell off the sofa. It was like an earthquake; the bookshelves were shedding their books before thudding to the ground. A scream from the hallway told them both that Selphie and Zell had been coming back to the living room. Squall crawled on the floor towards the hall, covering his head with his hands as the chandeliers fell from the ceiling, dragging with them the plaster that kept the ceiling looking so pristine.

"ZELL! SELPHIE!!!!" He shouted when a particularly heavy bookshelf landed on the floor just before him. "ZELL!"

There was no reply from the hall for a couple of seconds, and Squall's heart thudded in his throat. He was confused, he didn't know what was going on, he didn't know if Quistis was okay or even if he was, he didn't dare risk trying to stand what with the violent way the whole manor was shaking and he felt powerless. But then he remembered; he wasn't just Squall, not anymore.

"Please Rinoa...." he whispered, just as Zell shouted something from the other room that he couldn't make out. "....I need help..."

He didn't know if it would work or if he wanted to work, but he desperately needed to ensure his friends' safety; he didn't know what would happen or what he would be able to do but to help, he had to be a sorcerer – It was as if the whole world was conspiring against him to force him to accept the truth.

"I'm a sorcerer..." he whispered.

He began, unsteadily, to rise slowly from the ground. His mouth hung open and his eyes moved from hand to hand as he saw them rise off the floor in time with the rest of his heard Quistis gasp in the background, and she, also shouted something.

But again, he didn't make it out.

Suddenly a strong but gentle breeze blew through the room, filling his nose with a familiar and extraordinary scent. Sandalwood.

The wind began to centre around him and lifted him higher into the air, his fringe blowing upwards in the breeze and his hands and feet began to tingle. His spine felt like it was jerking around in his body as electric shocks charged up and down his back, filling him with energy, emotion...

The electricity started to distract him; from the earthquake, the screams of his friends, his floating. His head began to swim as the sandalwood and the tingling and the electricity took him away from his body, Caraway's Mansion, the danger....

And then everything stopped. No head spinning, no tingling, no electricity. Only sandalwood.

He opened his eyes, which were beginning to water, and gasped. The books falling before him were suspended in mid air; the shards of broken glass floated lifelessly and he became dreadfully aware that the quake had stopped. He tried to looked around, move his arms, put his legs back on the ground but he was paralyzed in mid air, and when he tried to call for his friends he found he could not speak. Panic enveloped him, his heart thumping loudly and quickly in his frozen chest...

"Squall...."

The heart was still. He couldn't see for the tears that had filled his eyes and he could barely breath for a mixture of feelings like excitement, guilt and love.

"...we don't have much time, Squall. It's starting...and we'll need to work together to get through it..." he felt a hand on the small of his back. His eyes closed as he took in every single detail of that moment; of Rinoa's hand on the small of his back.

"Don't worry. I'll be there with you..."

_Just a moment, one more moment..._he thought to himself. But then he heard leather snapping, the sound he had always heard when Rinoa tightened her pinwheel; when she got ready for a fight.

"Are you ready?"

The purple glow was descending again, the shaking floor was becoming a distant memory and all Squall focused on was helping those around him. His body started moving on it's own; as though swimming, he glided through the air, getting faster and more confident with every second, until he was floating in the dead centre of the room.

The books and shards of glass began to fall again, slowly at first. The sound of the earth shaking began to fill the air again, quietly at first. The water in his eyes disappeared as he remembered the danger, the mansion, his friends...

The books fell fast again, the shards flew violently through the air once more, the heart wrenching sound of the quake roared on the wind once more, beside the scent of the sandalwood. He snapped to his senses.

"Quistis..." he thought, and suddenly, his body was taking him to her; she was cowering in a corner, curling into a ball, with books and plaster and glass scattered around her. She didn't see Squall coming, but before she knew it, she was in his arms, and flying.

"Sq-Squall!"

He barely made that out.

"Zell...Selphie..."

He was flying towards the door, the solid oak door, the door that inexplicably blew open for him, and there on the staircase was Zell, crouched over the small form of Selphie as she clung to the iron railing for dear life. He landed beside Zell, who looked up slowly and took on an even more frightened visage than had already been there.

"Are you ok?" Squall said, the purple glow thawing slightly. All the response he got was a nod. He returned the gesture with a smile.

The plaster on the stairway started cracking and the windows started smashing in. The four friends huddled together, Squall grounded now and having already place Quistis beside Selphie; he and Zell stood together protecting the girls.

"Zell! Cast protect when I do!" Squall commanded, putting his hand to his forehead in preparation for the spell to come, but Zell merely hung his head.

"I....I don't have any GFs now, I can't cast magic...."

The blond looked crestfallen, dismayed, the look of depression in his eyes almost bringing more tears to Squall's eyes; but he came up with an idea.

"Squall, junction Siren...." he looked at Selphie "....Selphie, unjunction Siren for a moment!"

All the shinobu artist mustered was a nod, before she closed her eyes tightly and clicked her fingers; Selphie's unique way of junctioning and unjunctioning. Zell looked apprehensive.

"What if...what if she attacks us?"

Squall smiled, and made to touch Zell's hand as a gesture of support....but he stopped halfway.

"Unjunction her as soon as you've cast the spell, it took your other GFs a good while to turn....mad...or whatever..."

Zell nodded reluctantly, and he took on the more conventional pose of closing his eyes and whispering the name of the GF he wished to junction.

"_Siren...._" he stood silent for a few seconds, until he opened his eyes and nodded "...quick..."

Squall smiled as he put his hand to his forehead once more, and Zell followed his lead uncertainly by putting both his hands together in front of his eyes.

_Protect!_

Both SeeDs yelled the spell as their shield merged to form one; a shimmering light blue case slowly enveloping them both. Zell looked towards Squall, ready to ask about Selphie and Quistis, but there was no need; Squall had closed his eyes again, as though focusing intently. The shield carried on growing past Zell and Squall, and when Squall reopened his eyes his characteristic grey iris' had taken on a purple glow; the shield grew faster and faster, until the four friends were encased in a blue bubble; in which, there was no shaking of the ground, no threat of falling debris or glass.

The girls stood and dusted themselves off; Quistis, in particular, was covered in glass. They looked from Zell to Squall, looks of apprehension spreading across their faces. Would they take adcantage of their calm oasis, in the bubble, while it lasted? Squall opened his mouth first.

"Zell...I-I'm...."

"COMMANDER!"

The front door blew open and the four of them were blown back a few feet in their bubble as a surge of wind from the outside world blew through the house. Irvine and Aeon were blown in with the gust, Squall having to act quickly by casting _float_ to ensure that they landed safely just outside their bubble; his eyes once again turned purple as the willed the bubble to extend past their companions' as well, failing to notice who was walking through the door.

"Impressive...._commander...._" Seifer leered as he waltzed across the hall. "...A sorcerer and a liar I see!" He nodded to Quistis just as the bubble finished shielding Irvine and Aeon, who were looking at Squall with a mixture of fear, apprehension, and relief. Squall took a moment before he remembered telling Seifer Quistis had died in Timber. "...I wonder where Rinoa is..."

The tall mercenary licked his lips hungrily as he eyed his pray.

"Six SeeDs...Well I suppose we'll make do with you, even is Rinoa isn't here...." he smiled "...yet, anyway."

Squall curled his hand into a fist as the others drew their weapons around him. Protected in the bubble, they didn't feel any need for a conversation with Seifer, they knew what was coming. Or so they thought.

The gold crown appeared out of nowhere above Seifer's hand and dropped a bit down his arm; it latched on and he sniggered slightly before frivolously throwing his hand in their direction.

"Hyne's Castle" he said simply, before the bubble faded to nothing before his very eyes. His task down, he passed his hand over the rest of the hallway before him, the damage of his magic being healed as the crown's light shone around the room.

"And so it begins...." he smiled, before pointing his hand dead in the air and repeating "Hyne's Castle", sending himself off to join the six SeeDs that he had been sent to collect.

_I know this isn't one of the best chapters ,I'll write it better once I'm on a bit in the story, I'm just trying to piece the plot together for now :P_

_R&R Please? ___


	19. Fear

**Chapter 19 – Fear.**

_This is meant to happen, Squall._

_Go with your instincts and you'll be okay..._

_...I might not be able to communicate with you after what's going to happen, Squall._

_So I want you to know that I love you, and I will always protect you._

_And I want you to know that I'm sorry..._

_...but this was meant to happen, Squall._

'_What's going to happen...?'_

Squall got no reply.

_-_

The ringing in his ears stopped as the blue bubble collided onto a hard stone floor. The grey marble underneath the six friends cast back at them painfully distorted versions of themselves, their hair grey and thinning, their weapons broken, brittle and snapped, their skin rotten and decaying. The stench of rotting, burning carcass filled their senses but looking around they could see no fire, no death. In each other's eyes there was still a strong flicker of life, their hair still healthy and shiny, their skin smooth and tanned. Seifer was trying to play games.

But his game was working on Selphie, who couldn't take her eyes off of her reflection; she was looking far into the distance, where pillars of the same strange rock towered upwards to a ceiling that wasn't visible, and in each other the pillars she saw the same dreadful visage, her deepest fear. She was old. And she was frail.

In her reflection, bouncing back at her thousands of times from every direction, she saw a decrepit, bent old woman, with her arms falling lifelessly before her as they clung to the shinobu that she thought she would always wield with ease. She looked ridiculous in that outfit now; what this morning had been the trendiest, most fashionable attire now made the old woman look like she was trying way to hard. The beret, that had accentuated her hair's natural shine that morning, now contrasted disgustingly with her dirty grey hair that hung limp and brittle by her gaunt cheeks...

"Selphie!" Quistis shouted, panicking as she saw the tears that filled her friends' eyes and the curve of her back that showed Selphie getting weighed down by some unknown force...

"Quistis...I-I'm hideous...I...How? What...." tears trickled down her cheeks as she struggled to comprehend that it was an illusion, her mind unable to grasp that what was before her was not the truth.

Zell and Irvine were sat on the ground, cuts all over their bodies from the glass that had thrown through the air in the mansion, while Aeon stood with his eyes closed and his left arm grasping his right shoulder intently as blood gushed forth from a wound that only Seifer could have been cruel enough to inflict.

"Squall..." Quistis said. Her forehead was bleeding but she seemed to be coping, more worried about Selphie than herself. Selphie, ironically, had not a scratch on her; she was the only one who looked as healthy as she had the night before; Zell had protected her well from the quake's consequence. Squall realised how protective Zell had gotten, and his heart soared....

And then another purple haze, lighter than before but visible, clouded his sight; the marble surrounding them started to glow purple too, clouding out the horrible images and leaving in their place a silver clean enough to see a _true _reflection in.

Selphie's tears began to subside. And Quistis smilled.

"Thanks Squall..."

He wasn't entirely sure what he had done, but seeing that his magic had also healed the party's wounds, he smiled gently. And thanked Rinoa.

"SeeD" came a booming voice from some indiscernible location. "You're time has arrived; leave your weapons where you are and continue forward."

The voice was not Seifer's. It was a female's, and it was strongly spoken, given with force, authority. And a strong accent....It sounded familiar...

"She sounds Centran..." Aeon said, having opened his eyes and relinquished his grasp on his shoulder.

Squall nodded. Someone on their journey must've had that accent.

Quistis cuddled Selphie close as she dropped her whip on the floor and made sure Selphie dropped her shinobu. She smiled gently at Squall as he apprehensively dropped his lionheart, while Aeon's shriuken fell to the floor. Zell and Irvine stood still.

"This is clearly a trap..." Zell said, his eyes wide with fear.

Squall put his hand on the blond's shoulder; the younger teen flinched a little but quickly settled. His eyes did not meet Squall's but his muscles relaxed, at least.

"We'll all be here, Zell..."

The blond looked at Irvine, who seemed conflicted; give up his Exeter and walk into a trap, or keep it with him and no doubt be bombarded with enemies....

Zell took off his gloves as Irvine place his Exeter with the other weapons.

"I'm coming back for that..." the cowboy said.

He and Zell talked off first, followed by a still shaking Selphie and a mothering Quistis, while Aeon and Squall brought up the rear.

"There goes our plan." Aeon said, noticing the lack of an element of surprise.

"Just make sure you've got a GF junctioned....."

Squall didn't want to say too much more in case he panicked the other's too much, but he sensed that even though they didn't have their weapons, they wouldn't be quite as powerless as this woman thought they would be.

-

A short walk forward brought the party to a pair of towering oaken doors, fashion luxuriously with intricate carvings that were lined with silver and a purple ore none of them could place but all them admired. The handles were silver as well, and through the circular keyholes came a strip of violet light that shone eerily across the now-silver floor.

"The sorceress will see you now" It was Seifer's voice this time "But you must complete a task...."

The doors flew open, blinding the six friends with a strong violet light for moment, and filling their noses with a strong scent of Sandalwood mixed with that strange burning flesh smell again....

It took Squall a while to adjust to what he saw before him; he could only see his friends, whose eyes were screwed up much like his own.

_Squall. This is meant to happen._

A calm and gentle voice filled his ears as his eyes suddenly adjusted; the violet glare of the room beyond was replaced by the familiar purple haze that somehow enabled himt o see more clearly; his friends still could not see whereas he saw clearly; the glass floor that showed nothing but clouds beneath their feet, the glass walls that showed an endless blue sky and a ceiling that greeted sunlight and was decorated extravagantly with silver chandeliers with beautiful violet glass bulbs; the source of the glare. And then, in the centre of the room, a glass casket, with something black inside.

"Proceed, SeeD, and fulfil your task."

Squall looked around for the source of the voice, but could see nothing but the surrounding skies, so decided to go along with both the orders and Rinoa's advice that this was meant to be.

"Take my hand...." he said, as he grasped Quistis on one side, Zell on the other..."And take each others' hands..." his friends fumbled as they tried to join hands, Selphie in the end simply falling into Quistis and letting her hold her once more "...and follow me..."

He walked forward, to the casket, slowly so his friends wouldn't fall and to give them more time to adjust to the light. It seemed that Aeon was beginning to see more clearly, as he let go of Irvine's hand fairly quickly and still managed to walk with the rest of them. Selphie and Quistis, too, soon adjusted and simply held hands loosely as a way of support rather than necessity and eventually Irvine walked forward with no help from Zell. Zell, Squall hoped, could see perfectly, but when they reached the side of the casket, he was still holding Squall's hand.

And when they saw the body inside, he squeezed gently but firmly.

"Rinoa..." he whispered, and all feelings of angst and apprehension must have disappeared on the spot, for he stood in front of Squall and looked him square in the face "...we can leave. We can find another way out and leave..."

"N-no..." Squall began, his eyes welling slightly but his heart surprisingly calm, but he couldn't finish a sentence before the door they had came through slammed shut and integrated seamlessly with the glass wall it had been breaking up. "...We'll do this." He squeezed the blond's hand as way of thanks, and before he had time to think against it, he gently kissed him on the lips before pushing past him to stand next to Rinoa's body.

"The body has six pieces of jewellery; each of you, take on and put it on ."

Squall noticed the silver necklace, the purple ring, the diamond bracelet, the ruby anklet, the onyx earring and golden watch. And above all that, he noticed the half burned, half beautiful form of his first love, Rinoa.

_That's not me anymore Squall. This is meant to happen._

A small breeze from nowhere brought a single white feather, drifting slowly into Squall line of vision. And he smiled.

"This isn't Rinoa guys...."

He gently took the silver necklace and pulled it over his head and around his neck. The silver clinked next to a silver chain Rinoa had bought him and with the sound a weight lifted from his heart.

_I love you..._

The voice whispered.

Squall simply smiled quietly as the other took a piece of jewellery; Zell the ring, Quistis the bracelet, Selphie the anklet, Irvine the earring and Aeon the watch. They looked apprehensively from one another to the corpse they had just pilfered, to Squall then back to each other, and Zell quietly took Squall's hand again with a gentle squeeze.

"Proceed." The female voice came again as two more doors opened before them; beyond was not a grand, empty room of marble or silver, but a small, purple smoke filled room with two unidentifiable figures inside, plush red carpet and a warm golden decor that emanated a disturbing homeliness.

Squall squeezed Zell's hand in return for his, and was the first to take a step forward.

_Okay; I dunno how people will take to this chapter but please review and please wait for the next chapter – it's gonna be a biggie :P_

_R&R as usual please =]_


	20. Seifer and Siren

**Chapter Twenty – Siren and Seifer**

Seifer raised his hand, palm facing the group, as they crossed the threshold into his and his woman's room. She had her back to them for now, a mass of red and cream fur and feathers with an opulent black steel headdress expanding quite greatly in many different directions, along which the odd blue spark seemed to dance from time to time. Seifer, his white coat ragged and tattered, his hair messy and ruffled, looked arrogant as ever with his cocky grin and cold silver eyes. The crown was nowhere to be seen, Squall noticed, thankfully.

Zell's hand was sweating slightly in his, weather from the heat in this small room or anxiety he didn't know, but he was determined not to let go. Rinoa had given him a power to defend himself and his friends and he would not let it lie idle – at the first sign of trouble he planned to take Seifer and this woman on by himself, confident that _this was meant to happen_.

Rinoa's voice still bounced around his brain, echoing here and there and so faint that it was indiscernible but clear enough that he knew it was her. He knew she was there, somehow, he knew she was with him; with them. He knew that he was weak and that it was his friends that made him strong, but he also knew that he could lend them his strength as much as they lent him theirs. His scar tingled slightly as the dormant magic within him writhed in anticipation, his blood rushing and his heart thumping ever so slightly faster than it was used to. His eyes, these days, seemed permanently on the brink of crying, a glaze of unshed tears forcing his eyes to glisten and gleam, sometimes transparent, sometimes with a slight tinge of purple.

Squall didn't hold make the smile he mustered. As Seifer had raised his hand for them to stop, so he too had raised his as a sign for them to remain silent. He knew his blond adversary, he knew his perverse fetishes and his arrogant indulgences; Seifer thrived on people's misery and anger. He had always loved pushing people to their absolute limits, Zell and Quistis in particular, relishing their anguish, frustration, contempt for him. He expected, no, he _wanted_ the six SeeDs before him to rant and rave at him about his unforgivable actions, his disgusting demeanour, his ill founded confidence. He wanted Squall to draw his gunblade, Zell to flurry his fists and Quistis to crack her whip. He would extort other, smaller agitations from the rest of them as well but his main targets, Squall knew, were those three.

The three that Squall knew he was jealous of. Zell, for his passion and his emotion, Quistis for her success and the respect people held for him, and Squall, for his quiet but dominant strength and his ability to have people like him no matter what he did to them. Seifer craved attention, attention that he, Zell and Quistis got – and he hated them for it.

No, he wouldn't hide the smirk that he felt sprawl across his handsome features.

-

Zell felt Squall's hand sweating in his own. He suspected Squall was over thinking and trying to come up with a way out of this desperately hopeless situation, but knew also that Squall was confident in his new found abilities as a sorcerer. As Seifer raised his hand as command to stop, Zell found himself contemplating the implications of Squall's becoming Rinoa's heir; could they ever truly be together? The prejudices of a homosexual relationship would put strain enough on their affections for one another, but the enormity of hatred that was still felt widespread across Gaia? Rinoa had only succeeded in convincing Balamb and Timber of her good intentions; the greater powers, Galbaldia, Dollet and particularly Esthar, were wary beyond belief of magic, let alone sorcery.

He found himself worrying for a relationship he didn't know for sure existed. He found himself gazing up in the handsome features of a Squall who, surprisingly calm, had stolen his heart without him even realising, of a Squall who had ripped his world apart and completed it at the same time.

He squeezed the gunblade-artists hand and snapped himself out of his reverie.

The woman with her back to them seemed to emanate respect; her aura commanded strength and her posture, even though hidden behind those layers of fur and feathers, he knew exuded authority. Who was she? Her headdress reminded him of Edea at the parade in Galbadia, all those months ago, while her clothes reminded him of the models he and Selphie had seen stroll down the catwalk on a visit to the Galbadia Fashion Week that fall. This woman both intimidated and captivated him.

Turning to Seifer made his blood boil. The years of intense rivalry between the two had done nothing but grow since he had been tossed out of Garden after The Great Battle, and with the death and near loss of Rinoa and Quistis, the ill blood between them only festered more. His heart thumped in his chest as he thought of all the taunts, all the humiliations he had had to endure at the hands of that dirty, cheap, arrogant bastard. He could feel the blood rush to his brain as his cheeks reddened with fury and his free hand curled into a fist while the one clutching Squall squeezed hard and firm. His brows furrowed and he placed one foot behind his other, a better hold on the ground; a gesture of defiance and strength.

He would prove here, once and for all, that he wasn't the chicken wuss Seifer had always relished calling him.

-

Quistis and Selphie exchanged glances as they sensed the change in both Squall and Zell. The both of them appeared ready to take Seifer and this woman on all by themselves, Zell reddening with an untold anger neither of them fully understood while Squall bristled with a confident supremacy neither of them thought him capable of. They moved closer to the two, for both back up and protection.

Irvine and Aeon hung back, closer to the door; Irvine knew he was of more value from a distance and Aeon was confident that he could be quick enough into the fray to help out if the need arose. He crossed his arms across his chest and donned a smile not unlike Squalls as he evaluated the situation; six against two, SeeDs against a failure and some random, Squall's new powers against Seifer's visibly tired body.

He didn't expect to be here longer than an hour.

-

"Stop!" Seifer hailed as he raised his hand. As the six friends walked in to the room he looked each of them over, filling the room with an audible silence for a few moments. He watched as they retreated into their own little worlds, their own thoughts; he watched as Squall raised a hand to keep them quiet while the chicken wuss looked ready to swat some more flies and those pathetic little women cowered behind them, as if they could be protected. The new guy and Irvine were proving to be something of enigmas to Seifer, both hanging back without any extreme concern crossing their features, with the ninjas crossed arms infuriating him slightly.

But he didn't let it show.

-

"You may return the jewellery now, SeeD" the woman said, her voice travelling through the smoke and hitting them all quite clearly, though being some distance away. "Or rather, I may take it back...."

A flurry of fur and feathers and an elongated arm stretched up above the woman's head and head dress. A red glove gripped her arm in its entirety and contrasted rather hideously with the blue light that she seemed to conjuring out of nowhere. Squall's hand moved to his gunblade holster while he watched, not wanting to rush into a battle with an unknown opponent – however confident he was, he was not a fool. He felt Zell tense beside him, and his heart skipped a beat as he realised they were no longer holding hands; a lump rose in his throat. But he must be strong.

"Jewels of Hyne and sorceress – return!" The female voice shrieked, the last word reverberating around the walls and ceiling none of them could see through the mist that seemed to be darkening now, moving agitatedly. The blue light enveloped the whole room for a split second, where all six of them felt themselves pulled forward slightly; the chain tore itself away from Squall's neck with a strength that almost brought him to his knees, and when the light was gone again a scream arose from behind him as he saw six pieces of jewellery gliding towards the woman's outstretched hand. Turning around he saw Selphie grip her ankle, the one she had put the anklet on, as she fell to the ground. Her eyes filled with tears as the skin on her leg started to wrinkle and age rapidly; where the anklet had touched began to decay and rot, Selphie's fear of age coming horribly to life. Irvine ran to her side, trying to console her as she clawed in vain at her disappearing leg.

"No GF...huh...." the woman turned around to face the group, though through the now dense fog it was hard to make out any prominent feature. "I suppose she's not needed here then..." clicking her fingers, the woman chanted something in a language Squall found familiar yet alien, and within seconds, Selphie's wailing had stopped, her leg had returned to the way it was, but she was still; deathly still.

Irvine shook her slightly, a look of shock and horror crossing his features as he struggled with grief, surprise and anger.

"Irvine, she's still breathing..." Quistis assured the gun shooter, holding her ear to her fallen friend's mouth. "Aeon, carry her back to the door..."

As the ninja made to pick Selphie up the woman with no name clicked her fingers again and a bubble, like the one that had protected them back in Caraway's Mansion, expanded ferociously around Selphie's comatose form, sending her five friends sailing through the air in different directions. Squall, in the panic, tried desperately to snatch at Zell as he saw him fly away from him, but it was an effort made in vain, and within seconds, they had all disappeared into the fog, out of

The woman and Seifer though, remained visible, an eerie blue light picking them out from the violent purple mist while the bubble that protected and imprisoned Selphie glowed bright white, a beacon in the haze.

"She can be saved, don't worry" Seifer's leering voice crept around the room "We won't do anything more to harm her. However, you'll need to be fast in healing her, her breathing doesn't sound too good..." true enough, through the silence Squall could pick out a ragged, failing breathing "...but then, it doesn't look too much like any of you are gonna make out of here..." Even through the fog Squall could picture Seifer's arrogant grin.

"You fucking coward, Seifer!" Squall heard Irvine's voice roar from somewhere to his left. Seifer, in the distance turned in the direction of the voice and laughed for a moment before retaliating "Why don't we start with him...?"

The woman nodded and shed her fur/feather layer, revealing a slender, almost sexual figure composed of red and more feathers. The headdress danced with electricity now, and her face was gradually becoming visible in the fog that seemed to deliberately dance away from her now.

"I think that's a good idea, Sir Knight..."

_Sir Knight...?_ Squall though _Whose Knight...?_

Fearing the answer, Squall couldn't drag his eyes away from the figures as he saw the woman, who was rapidly coming into focus now, lift her arm to reveal in her hand the ear-ring that Irvine had wrenched from the Rinoa corpse.

"Dark Messenger, Bringer of the unholy light – Diablos! Turn on your former master...!" The light flashed brighter for a split second, but not long enough for Squall to get a good enough look at her face, before being drowned out by a sudden rush of dark energy from the floor directly beneath the form of the woman. The shadow rose his into the fog, a flock of jagged, moving darknesses that swarmed and hovered around some central entity. The higher it rose into the air, the more they began to join together, the purple mist being slashed around them as they formed massive, pointed wings and fangs and claws and horns. The creature began to emerge from the darkness, frightening – horrifying.

Diablos floated gently on air, the remnants of his shadow bats disappeared. He hovered just above Seifer and the woman, and faced in the direction of Irvine's voice. Squall heard a gun clicking.

_Irvine had Diablos junctioned...._Squall recalled, his brow furrowing but his mind unable to concentrate with the surprise and the purple fog. A small wiff fo sandalwood from nowhere in particular brought Rinoa's voice into focus for a brief moment – _This is meant to happen_.

"Irvine! Don't fight that thing on your own! Wait 'til we can regroup!"

"Ah, Instructor Trepe – Seifer tells me that you must've given me quite a fight..." The woman said, Seifer moving in the direction of Quistis' voice – the other side of the room from Squall "...too bad it hasn't happened for me yet...But let's see..." The bracelet glinted in the blue light as, once again, the woman brought the jewellery before her and pointed it in the direction of the whip mistress.

"Tsunami, The Power of the Great Seas and Life of the Ocean Expanse – Leaviathan! Arise!" Once more, the blue light engulfed the room, providing Squall with a brief view of the woman's back – a tattooed spine that was visible through a parting in the red dress she wore than stretched provocatively down the tip of her pelvis – before the fog faded slightly once more and made way for the swirling mass of water that erupted from the ceiling, congealing on the floor before this mysterious woman to create the form and terror of a great serpent. The mass squirmed as it solidified, the water glistening brighter as it began to create the form of one of the parties most trusted GFs.

In a burst of bubbles, Leviathan appeared, its fins stretched outwards to compose a dominating figure, more than five times the height of Squall; even Diablos, who had remained still since his summoning, was dwarved by the King of the Seas.

A shriuken flew through the air in the fashion of a boomerang, narrowly missing Seifer and then the woman as it made its return journey to Aeon – who must've been standing just behind Selphie's bubble, on Squall's right, judging on where it had returned.

"Are you that desperate to prove yourself, you fool?" Seifer laughed into the air as the woman faced the direction of the ninja, and raised her arm once more.

"If you desire so to prove yourself, then face your greatest power..." the watch hovered above the woman's hand and once again emanated the strange blue light. "Bringer of Flame and Giver of Life, Come Forth – Phoenix!"

A single flame cut through the fog before the woman, landing with a silent and anticlimactic splash on the floor. For a second, nothing, in which time Squall tried to piece together what he had just seen of the woman from the third flash, a tattooed temple and cheek, with the rest of what he had seen before, but then, in a roar of fire and what sounded like the screech of a giant bird, Phoenix started to swim upwards from the floor, it's great wings rising through the now sparse fog and solidifying to form the great life-bringer whilst the flames that had erupted to the rear of the figure formed its tail wings. The bird stood as tall as Diablos and emanated the power of Leviathan as it joined the ranks of the now superimposing army of GFs Seifer and his woman were forming. Squall heard Aeon brandish his shriuken and through the now thin mist he could make out the figure of Irvine on his left, his Exeter in his hands, taking careful aim of Diablos before him, and Quistis straight ahead, her whip flailing before her as she tied her hair into her characteristic tight bun in preparation for battle.

Before he could see how Aeon was preparing, he caught a glimpse of the woman before him, and now, in the clearing fog and the joined lights of Selphie's bubble, Phoenix's flames and the light the exuded from her hand, Squall could make out his adversary. Sandalwood filled his senses again briefly as he stopped himself calling her name in fury, and Rinoa filled him once more – _This is destiny._

"And now our leader..." Seifer jeered, leaning on his gunblade as he and his mistress faced the commander of Balamb Garden.

"Ah...Squall..." the woman said; her face shone with both disgust and respect, her hand curling into a fist as the chain rose above the ring and began to shimmer with the now familiar blue light. "..I suppose you know what's coming..."

Squall probed his senses, trying to discover which GF she had wrenched from him – Shiva remained, fiercely loyal to her most deserving master, as did Eden and Ifrit...which meant that....

"Ferrier of Souls to the Underworld and Bringer of Plagues and Pestilence – Doomtrain, show yourself!"

The chain erupted in the blue glare as Squall screamed the name of his assailant; the sound was lost in the turning of wheels and the spouting of steam from an engine; to the left, Squall saw a track form than sped almost instantly to his feet, passing by the three already summoned GF. The terrifying body of the Doomtrain hurried along the ghostly tracks it followed, steam pouring from its chimney and it's face becoming clearly with every millisecond; a personification of every sin and lost soul, a face deserving of its home in Hell, it thundered along the track until it came to Seifer and the woman. It faced Squall as it ground its wheels to a halt, the eyes of the Doomtrain drenched in anger, the mouth contorted in a pose of sheer contempt. It stood shorted than the other three GF, but brought with it the greatest fear; Squall drew his gunblade and exchanged a worried glance with Irvine, who he could see clearly now as Doomtrain had dispelled the remainder of the mist.

"So you've worked out who I am..." the woman mused quietly, before turning away from him.

Squall, however, ignored her. His heart raced as he tried to find Zell, as he feared who he would have to face. His eyes scanned the room as he struggled to find him, his head finding Aeon, Quistis and Irvine all looking around like he was, but not finding Zell.

"And that leaves the chicken wuss..." Seifer laughed, his face perfectly visible now as his eyes shrank with perverse glee, reminding Squall of pigs eyes, of snakes eyes. The woman's face had turned from him and was looking up and away from Squall, above Quistis. He followed her line of vision, as they all did, to find Zell, alone and panicked, on a ledge that hadn't been visible before. He was looking down on the pair of adversaries, having adopted his usual fighting stance and bouncing lightly on the spot. Squall's heart soared – Zell's spirit, even when he was frightened and desperately against the odds, was insurmountable.

"Zell...the woman with the GF problem..." the woman let out an ear splittingly cold laugh that filled and echoed around the room. Squall's toes curled and his gut wrenched as it reverberated around his mind along with Rinoa's whispers long after the woman had contained herself. He missed a small exchange between Zell and Seifer, which visibly was filled with venomous remarks and spiteful name calling, thanks to the sound of the woman's blood curling laugh ringing in his ears before it fizzled out, leaving on the sound of Selphie's laboured breathing, his own thumping heart and the sound of the ring Zell had wore rising slowly into the air with a gentle but ominous humming sound. The blue light was even colder, harsher now that it didn't have to contend with the purple mist, and it hurt Squall's eyes more when it erupted in its usual blast of energy.

"Voice of the Enchantress, Magic of the Sorceress – Siren! Appear!"

The sound of a bullet rang through the air as Irvine pulled the trigger of his Exeter. Diablos had lunged forward unexpectedly, deflected at the last minute by a badly aimed AP bullet in his ear. The demon's screech drowned out the sound of the steam whistling from Doomtrain as its wheels slowly began to spur into action as Leviathan silently soared through the air towards Quistis, who quickly cast protect and began to crack her whip against the invincible fins of her assailant, his screech overpowered Phoenix's cry as it dive through the air towards Aeon whose speed served him well as he ran up the wall to his back escape – Selphie's bubble bore the brunt of the birds attack, and it bounced high into the air with the ailing Selphie safely and dangerously inside. The sound of waves rolling slowly in the distance was the only thing to contend with the scream from Diablos' maw as Siren's Sea slowly began to form above them all. Very slowly.

Irvine's bullets rained high into the air after a Diablos who was taking refuge in the skies which seemed to stretch on forever under the ceiling of a never ending explanse. The demon shot down small shadows in retaliation that Irvine danced skilfully around, though occasionally missed the droplet of blood that came as quickly as the shadows. His golden coat and brown haired head that was odd looking without its hat now were streaked with purple blood that mixed with sweat and the odd small cut he sustained as he worked harder than he had in months to hit the impossibly fast Diablos. He cast Aura as Diablos took a moment to cast Curaga on himself, trying anything he could think of to ready his chances against an immortal being.

Quistis' whip became lightening as Save The Queen ricocheted between the ground, the walls around her and the impenetrable hide of the Sea Serpent Leviathan. She desperately cast Thundaga, Meteor, Demi, Flare, all which were deflected and narrowly missed their caster; the Meteor's crumbled harmlessly to dust with the merest graze of Leviathan's mighty scales, forming beneath his massive form a trail of dust. It hadn't attacked yet, merely beginning to make his ascent into the heavens alongside Diablos, dragging a mountain of earthin his wake, readying tsunami. Quistis stared hopelessly upwards as she cast Aura, preparing one last feeble attempt at stopping her ally-turned-foe in her trusted Shockwave Pulsar.

Aeon was faring well against Phoenix as the Siren Sea began to solidify overhead. The great bird had limited room now that it had a pool of water overhead to contend with, unable to fly through lest its wings be extinguished. The ninja danced across the floor at the speed of light, hurtling shriuken after throwing knife after waterga at the proud bird. He had entered Aura already, his speed triple what it usually was, his accuracy twofold and his power immeasurably strengthened. Phoenix hurtled flames that devastated the walls around but never found a mark with Aeon, and he started throwing the odd projectile at Leviathan or Diablos to help his ailing allies. As phoenix let out one last cry before descending into flames and creating a blazing inferno which formed a shield around the woman and Seifer, Aeon ran up the wall and into the abyss above after the bubble protecting Selphie that had gone so far up its light was almost overwhelmed by the daunting darkness above.

-

Doomtrain finally reached Squall as Quistis' Shockwave Pulsar connected with the Leviathan's Tsunami, Irvine's Pulse bullet sent a tremendously powerful blast to contend with Diablos' ultimate Shadow and Siren's Sea finally blocked the darkness above from view. A Sea, with no substance beneath it, sprawled about 50 feet above the ground, on which a mountainous rock settled. Zell had been unable to help in the fray below, powerless to help his friends and able only to watch as the magical sea lapped at his ankles and obscured from view the demon woman and Seifer, his friends and his lover, the battle below, leaving him only with Aeon, god knows how many miles above him, chasing Selphie in her bubble, the rock before him. He tightened his gloves as he waited for Siren to appear, the sound of her harp beginning to contend with that of the rolling waves.

-

Doomtrain steamed forth as Squall drew his gunblade before him; he slashed, hacked, sliced at the oncoming GF, with such force that it was force to stop moving forward and put up with fighting him without its usual forward momentum. Its mouth opened wide; out sprung innumerable tongues of violent, putrid colours that flailed like Quistis' whip and gave of the most toxic of gases. The tongues had mouths of their own which snashed and bit at Squall, who was forced to cleave his lionheart through them when they came to close, extorting from Doomtrain a cry so terrible that Squall's skin crawled. Every tongue he slew sprouted another in its place, a Hydra protruding from Doomtrain's cursed tongue.

Stalemate.

Squall hoped his friends were faring better, unable to see as Irvine and Diablos' warring energies created a grey mist around their battle, and Quistis' Shockwave Pulsar had left both her and Leviathan glowing so brightly looking at them would have blinded him.

He carried on warily slaying Doomtrain's tongues, trying to think of something, praying Zell was alright.

-

Siren played her harp quietly and beautifully, her wings and hair swimming gently through the air. The sound quietened Zell's heart and put his mind at rest; he found himself lowering his fists and staring, entranced at the creature before him. The GF smiled kindly towards Zell as her words filled his mind; the music and her voice fused within him, his anxiety melting away. She was empowering him, helping him.

He smiled, and the water started to roll away.

-

Suddenly, the tongues disappeared. Doomtrain was gone and Squall was covered in stinging cuts and his ragged clothes were covered in sweat, blood and poison. He looked around, as Irvine slumped on the floor, covered in his own and Diablos' blood. The demon was nowhere to be found either. Quistis was lying on the floor, breathing heavily, having drained herself in the battle against the greatest Sea Creature to ever grace Gaia. The inferno protecting Seifer and his woman was gone, and all the remained to be seen was Zell and Siren, side by side, on the ledge above the battlefield.

"Things are restored" Siren said, as she finished playing her harp. Leviathan, Dommtrain, Diablos and Phoenix appeared alongside her and Zell, all shaking their heads as though rousing from a dream. "Things are returned."

The GFs became transparent, and shot furiously fast back into the consciousness' of their masters; Leviathan, Diablos and Doomtrain down to Quistis, Phoenix and Siren up to the unseen Aeon and Selphie.

With the return of the GFs, the groups wounds were healed. Aeon and Selphie fell from above and landed behind Squall, perfectly safe, their GFs returned.

Seifer and the woman wore dazed faces; everything had happened so fast that neither of them seemed to fully comprehend the situation.

"Did you not expect this, Ultimecia?"

-

_Okay, long chapter. I know this really moved it along a bit but once I started this chapter I couldn't stop; R&R please...!_


	21. Angel Wing

**Chapter Twenty One – Angel Wing**

Quistis gasped. She was lying on the floor, tired after exerting herself in the battle with Leviathan. She gaped at the woman in the centre of the room, at the woman she had killed all those months ago. Her hand found her mouth as she tried to hide her surprise; she was too sound to gather herself once more and get to her feet.

-

Irvine had his Exeter trained dead on the sorceress. His hand shook slightly and sweat stung his eyes, but he resolved to leave her no chance to get out of his sight. He felt Diablos get comfortable in his mind and junctioned him immediately. They would not fight her again, not today. He would carry out the Sorceress Assassination he started in Galbadia over a year ago.

-

Seifer snarled. His eyes were dauntingly white, the iris shrinking with rage around an already miniscule pupil. His jacket flailed out behind him as he swiped Hyperion at his lifelong adversary, his lifelong rival. He waited only for the command from his mistress, only for the permission to rend Squall's head from his shoulders.

-

Selphie shook her head. Half shocked, half sleepy. The bubble had been hurting her – sapping her life – as it had hurtled upwards at an astounding rate. The bubbly SeeD was disoriented, unsure of where she was or who was with her. Siren was helping, but she was scared. She knew only that Squall had called someone Ultimecia. And ice gripped her veins.

-

Aeon, miraculously still in aura, had his shriuken in hand and was on Squall's right hand side ready for whatever this woman threw at them. So this was the woman who had tried to kill them all. This was the woman who had tried to end the world. The woman who had been killed by Squall. He was confused, but determined to fight. Phoenix, Aeon's most loyal GF, nudged his mind affectionately as way of apology.

-

Zell looked down, feeling helpless. Without a GF he could not cast magic down on Seifer of the sorceress. Without a GF protecting him a jump from this height would surely be the death of him. He stared silently at Squall, willing him to find a way out of this, willing him to find a way to end this quickly. He couldn't bear to watch his friends' face her again without him by their side.

-

Squall and Ultimecia's eyes locked. His a glorious honey colour, hers a disastrous crimson; because she was angry, livid.

"So....Some magic, you have on your side..." she began, her voice shaking slightly, but her mouth turning sharply into a dangerous smile. Another snarl left Seifer's throat. "...Shhh..." Ultimecia said, her voice steadying, as she put an arm on Seifer's back. "...We have time enough to deal with this ourselves..."

Seifer's breathing relaxed at her touch, but his face remained as focused and as disgusted as before. When would Ultimecia turn him loose?

"I wonder what it is that helps you...Commander..." Ultimecia mused, beginning to pace in a small circle around her knight; she seemed not to care that Irvine's crosshair lined up perfectly with her head "...Never before has my GF manipulation failed..." She eyed him curiously, her smile growing and her eyebrows arching in both surprise and unwilling respect. She thought quickly, her eyes dancing maniacally as they returned to a less imposing shade of red. "But I am forgetting that I am dealing with – the SeeD who someday kills me, the SeeD that someday ends my reign." Her eyes flashed violently for a moment, in anger. "But...I wonder if I shall remember this day when you defeat me. Remember the day that I defeated you..."

She grinned at Squall.

He kept quietly so as to keep Ultimecia from gauging him, his thoughts, his emotions. He knew that his voice could betray all kinds of information about him with even the most careful whisper, and he took no chance against a sorceress with the power to resurrect herself....

"...I hope that when I die I remember that I have already claimed a victory over SeeD. I hope that by the time my reign is over, the common people remember that they're heroes were slew, regardless, by their fallen queen."

She raised her hand silently above her head; Irvine's Exeter rang out, but the bullet seemed to swerve to avoid Ultimecia, and instead narrowly missed Zell as it was turned upwards. She kept smiling as the familiar blue light began to shine once more above her head.

"Knight, clean things up here. Don't disappoint me, and don't forget my promise..." Ultimecia began to fade, her body becoming transparent as the blue light shone brighter "...Don't forget where I will be; meet me when you survive this battle..." Seifer dropped to one knee, his head resting on the hilt of Hyperion as he paid homage to his mistress. The air became heavier somehow, a chill wind ringing eerily throw the room as she steadily disappeared. She had almost faded completely when her voice rang out once more.

"GREIVER!"

The blue light filled the room, knocking everyone to their knees as it sent a pulse in all directions – only Seifer remained in place – and filling Squall with a brief feeling of emptiness, of loss. Someone in the room screamed, a man, but it was short and ended abruptly.

The light faded, and Ultimecia was gone.

Seifer had stood now, and he glared menacingly at Squall. He stood in his favourite fighting posture, his gunblade stretched before him, and pointing at his target as he swayed slightly on his feet.

"Draw your weapons, SeeD!" he commanded, speaking the last word through violently gritted teeth.

"Squall!" Selphie cried at the same time. She made to run a few steps before him but when Seifer's blade turned to face her, she stopped dead in her tracks; her shinobu were drawn, but she didn't feel like facing Seifer's wrath alone "....look at Zell!" She whispered, pointing behind Seifer.

Squall's heart skipped a beat. The serenity he had felt, even whilst facing Doomtrain, left him for a moment, as he forgot where he was, what was before him, who he'd just seen.

Zell, crumpled and broken on the far side of the room, lay in a heep with blood pooling around his unmoving body. His chest rose, slowly and silently, as his head lay awkwardly atop one of his legs and his arms folded themselves the wrong way. Quistis made to move closer, but with a flick of his hand Seifer sent her flying to join Squall, Aeon and Selphie before him. Before Irvine could make a move, he was tossed back too.

"Time is running out for our beloved chicken wuss..." Seifer sneered with mock sincerity, snapping Squall back to the situation. He was sure his eyes were crimson now. "...can SeeD save the day? Can the Sorceress' Knight be thwarted by the heinous rabble?" He sniggered. "Let us find out..."

He lunged forward, crossing the room in the same amount it time for Squall to draw his Lionheart – and realise with a look to his hand that his Greiver ring was missing. Seifer's blade met with a blue barrier as Quistis hastily cast Protect, quickly joined by Aeon and Irvine; making a bubble again seemed imperative to beating this magically enhanced Seifer.

Squall hesitated, overwhelmed. The ring was gone; why did it matter so much to him? Why was he so furious? Zell was so near, yet so far, in dire need of his help...Why was he so helpless? Why didn't he get up? Why didn't he just tear Seifer to peices....?

Squall lunged this time, through the Protect bubble that was forming around the others, and dragged his Lionheart across Seifer's chest. An ear splitting screech – like someone dragging their nails down a blackboard – filled the room, followed by a colossal eruption, and Seifer was sent flying to the other end of the hall.

Still standing, Seifer got a hold on the ground soon enough to stop from colliding with the wall. Looking down, he found that his shirt had been torn off, the chest plate he had worn underneath it in tatters. His torso was intact, but his anger flared.

While Seifer collected himself, Squall chanced a look at the others; they had formed a protect bubble and were buffing him with all sorts of status effects; Haste, Float, Shell, Protect, Aura, Bravery, Faith. They seemed to realise, as Squall did, that this was his fight, and all they could do was help from the sidelines.

'_This was meant to happen, Squall' _came that beautiful voice. '_This was meant to happen, and you're doing brilliantly...'_

With the smell of sandalwood coursing through his mind, he ran for Seifer. He vaguely heard one of the others, possibly Selphie, exclaim "Let's get to Zell!" as the sound of wind whistling began to fill his ears and the sting of a stiff breeze began to nip at his cheeks. His eyes watered slightly, but it wasn't tears; it was something purple.

His blood rang with thunder and fire as he caught up to his enemy, a Seifer with a maddened look in his eye and his Hyperion already dancing, and they faught with a ferocity that Squall had never thought himself capable of. They jumped higher than anyone had jumped before, moved quicker, thought faster and slashed harder than either of them believed.

Squall threw a Holy War over his allies as they reached Zell's side, he and Seifer caught up in a flurry of Swords and magicks that sent them careering around the room.

Seifer was smiling as his eyes became bloodshot and he began to sweat; Squall saw in his mad eyes a reflection of himself – purple iris', even paler skin than usual, a determination set into his features that both scared and empowered him. This would end here.

"Give it up Commander..." Seifer called as he used the Lionheart as a springboard to jump high and away from Squall "...you've met MORE than you're match..."

Squall stopped for a moment to watch Seifer as his Hyperion danced in his hands with a gracefulness that under any other circumstance he would have found beautiful. A flame began to build in one of Seifer's hands- it was hard to tell which with the steel distorting Squall's view – and Squall's eyes widened before he took off at a run.

He ran so quickly that he was soon scaling the walls, his eyes forever locked on Seifer in the centre of the room, his peripheral vision showing his friends – and his lover – still protected by the Holy War. Thank Hyne. The flame had built to the size of a small bonfire and the Hyperion was spinning around a finger on Seifer's right hand. His manic laugh filled the room before he cried "Sorceress over SeeD; any day!"

The fire exploded. Seifer's laugh still rang around Squall's ears, but the Commander knew that he couldn't stop running. The burn was intense but the sorcery in his blood must have been absorbing a lot of the pain, and once or twice Squall heard the walls crumble around him as Seifer launched himself after him, eager to land the end blow of his attack.

Squall was on the run, and Seifer wasn't getting tired.

Time and again, the Sorceress' Knight collided with the walls, his blade narrowly missing Squall, and time after time, his laughter increased. Squall began to panic slightly; he had ran so far up the wall that he couldn't be sure how far below his friends lay, and he saw no way of tiring Seifer out before he either reached the ceiling or got hit by the end of No Mercy.

Just as his heart began to quicken, the most beautiful sound in the world filled his ears.

_Let go, Squall. Let go and let your instincts take over._

Squall closed his eyes. Rinoa had never let him down before, why would she now? He placed enormous faith in his beloved as he pushed himself off of the wall and felt his body take control of itself as his mind sat back and watched.

Seifer looked confused as the Lionheart collided with Hyperion. The black steel of the latter weapon twisted somewhat, and on its surface, where the Lionheart had struck, a purple mist lingered. Squall watched as his blade decimated Hyperion, as he kicked Seifer's face and grabbed his neck, throwing him back to the ground far below. The falling knight shrank quickly from Squall's view, though he didn't seem to allow gravity pull him down; he only fallowed his prey once his body had pointed downwards in a nose dive and he felt himself shooting towards Seifer – quickly catching up with him, letting Squall know he was travelling quicker than should have been possible.

They had yet to reach the ground when Squall was level with Seifer, and another kick put Seifer the right way up just in time to collide with the ground, the impact forcing him to his knees but nothing anymore seriously. Squall felt himself smile as he gently hit the ground, and was surprised that two brilliantly white angel wings were obscuring everything but Seifer from his field of vision.

So this was Angel Wing.

Squall's hand raised itself before Seifer could get to his feet; a flame burst forth and sent the blond back a few paces. He retaliated with his own, weaker flame, that Squall's wings quickly deflected back just as his hand blasted a thunder bolt after it. They both hit at the same time, bringing Seifer to his knees once more.

The opportunity was too much to pass up. The earth started shaking as Squall cast quake, and the air developed razor sharp gusts around Seifer as he simultaneously cast aero. Seifer writhed in agony, but something in Squall told him that he shouldn't be allowed to recover even for a moment.

The earth began to settle again and Seifer toppled to his hands now; on all fours. A lapdog.

_A lapdog._

Squall heard himself say the words, but they came out as an echo, filling the room even though he had barely whispered. He was sure that somewhere in the voice Rinoa was speaking as well, but before he could ponder this his body was acting again.

Both arms outstretched now, a block of ice began to gather before Squall. His mouth turned into an even wider smile. The ice emanated a blue fog, the kind that only freezing temperatures bring forth, and Squall pitied Seifer.

Just as the blond looked up, his face collided with the block that went soaring through the air, and he hand to choice but to let it pin him to the pal as it moulded to his body and forced him backwards until he found his torso and arms encased in the block, his back hard against the cold, stone wall.

The purple mist was beginning to descend now, the wings were receding and Squall regained control of his body. The smell of sandalwood and the small voice echoing around his brain however, lingered. Before Angel Wing gave up control of Squall's body completely though, it had one more task.

His hand pointed to the right now, though his eyes did not follow; he had no idea what this was cast at. Before he could begin to panic, a powerful "Esuna!" boomed forth from his voice box and by the time the echoes had fizzled out, his body was his again.

It took a moment for the pins and needles to wear off; he shook his arms and legs a few times, no longer concerned with the incapacitated Seifer despite the snarls and insults coming his way.

Squall turned to look at his friends; to look at his lover.

Zell was sitting upright against the wall, with Selphie and Quistis on either side of him administering round after round of curaga and regen. The martial artist was breathing more fluidly now, and there wasn't nearly as much blood as before (Squall guessed the Angel Wing had had something to do with that), whilst Aeon and Irvine stood, weapons drawn, their eyes lingering on Seifer and the ice that held him firmly in place.

Squall sat beside Selphie and held Zell's forehead silently; a normal temperature, with only a slight sheen of sweat.

"I think he'll be okay, Squall..." Selphie said, to which he replied with a nod.

"Your magic saved us again Squall...Rinoa's magic..." Quistis caressed Squall's arm briefly, allowing them a moment of silence (aside from Seifer's screams – "Chicken Wuss" "Coward" "Don't you turn your back on me, you bastard!") before she coughed lightly. "Squall, you need to deal with Seifer. We need to find out where Ultimecia is and what she's up to!"

Squall nodded and stood. He kissed Zell lightly on the forehead before he patted Irvine and Aeon on the back and motioned them to follow him towards Seifer.

With those three turned away from Zell, and Quistis and Selphie fussing over a few cuts and scrapes that hadn't healed yet, no one noticed Zell's eyes flicker open just for a second, revealing a purple tinge to his brilliant blue eyes.

-

_R&R Please as usual, I'd love to hear your views on how the story is going!_

_And I know this might be asking for a bit much but;_

_PLEEEEEEEEEEASE try to get some people interested in my story! If you know any FF fanatics you think might like it, please, please recommend it...I'll send you virtual love if you do ^^_


	22. Past, Past, Present

**Chapter Twenty Two - Past, Past and Present**

"You fucking – COWARD!" Seifer snarled, droplets of spit reaching Squall's cheek and splattering the ice block that held the fallen knight in place – causing an unexplainable purple mist to rise silently and faintly from the areas they drenched. "Fight me like a man! GET RID OF THIS- THIS....!"

"Oh shut the fuck up, Seifer...." Irvine yawned. His fingers ran through his long brunette locks as he wrested the Exeter over his shoulder. His purple eyes shone as his lips curled into his characteristic smile.

Squall wiped his cheek with his leather gloved hand. He did it slowly and deliberately, before he shook his hand vigorously, an effort to get rid of his adversaries saliva. "Seifer..." he began, his deep honey eyes meeting – almost provocatively – the cold blue eyes of the blond "...where is Ultimecia?"

Seifer laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. They were locked on the honey in Squall's eyes, locked on the magic that was found there. What was this magic, that he found unravelling the binds Ultimecia had put in place? What was this magic, that felt so familiar yet so strange?

"You...You'll never find her..." his voice lost it's hard edge with every second he stared into Squall's seductive glare, every second that the magic sparked between them. The solidity of Seifer's eyes began to liquefy as his brows began to unfurrow and his teeth retreated back behind his lips. "...Sh-She's too good...."

"You've said that once before, Seifer..." Squall retorted, his voice dripping with provocations and seductions. Aeon and Irvine looked uneasily from the exchange before them to each other, and in silent agreement, they drew their weapons; Irvine's Exeter aiming for in between Seifer's eyes, Aeon's shriuken for his throat. "...don't you remember?"

The blond was silent for a moment, his eyes glazing over with nostalgia and lost memories. No one but Squall knew what he was seeing, no one but Squall knew what it would take to get Seifer to loosen his tongue.

Rinoa spoke to him as he worked. _Remember how things were before you were a SeeD and he was a sorceress' knight; remember the times that you..._he voice caught for a moment..._stopped pretending. Remember the times when you didn't fight, when you didn't hate each other. Remember the time for Zell, before me, before Quistis; when it was just you two...._

Squall had never told Rinoa about his life before Garden. Or rather, his life before SeeD. He had never spoken about his _true _reason for hating Seifer, he had never disclosed the moments they used to steal in between classes, the training sessions they used to invent so they could be alone....

_Seifer will remember them too. And he'll talk. He'll cry, he'll hurt and he'll talk. Think about Zell; think about me. Think about your love for us and pour every ounce of that feeling into your voice, into your eyes. Hurt Seifer, Squall, hurt him to break him._

Squall was making Seifer remember, and the blond looked like he was in pain, for sure. A solitary tear streak down his pale skin as his eye brows turned, crestfallen, sagging under the weight of some unknown burden. Squall's eyes were still seductive, unblinking. "Where is Ultimecia...?" he repeated, his voice just as unfeeling as before, though somewhere in his dulcet tones an edge of ice lingered.

Squall didn't feel that way for Seifer anyway; he had been hurt too much. He had almost forgotten those days, the younger times...the stupid heart of an adolescent in turmoil. Now all he saw in his mind's eye was Zell, how he wanted to be with him, always, how he wanted to love him, always. His memories fluctuated between the early days with Seifer, the early days with Rinoa, the current situation with Zell. The three main areas of his heart.

"Squall...." Seifer's voice broke as another tear trickled down his cheek. His head sagged, no longer able to stand against the force of his memories "...I'm sorry...I...I c-can't tell you...."

_Go back to Zell, Squall. Turn your back on Seifer..._

Squall obeyed Rinoa, his hands catching Irvine's gun and Aeon's blade; they weren't necessary, Seifer was too anguished to try anything. Squall's eyes met Zell's, half open now, and he smiled. Quistis and Selphie eyed him slightly warily, not understanding the effect he had had on Seifer, but they moved out of the way for the commander.

Squall dropped to his knees before Zell and kissed him. The martial artist responded fervently, coming alive with Squall's touch, his eyes opening widely before slowly closing again as his arms wrapped around Squall's neck.

Squall's mind reeled; Seifer, Rinoa, Zell.....Rinoa, Seifer, Zell....Zell....

Seifer's sobs became more audible as the kiss progressed; Squall's arms around Zell's midriff, Zell pushing against Squall....

Quistis and Selphie turned away completely, joining Irvine and Aeon in their vigil of Seifer – Seifer, whose eyes were locked on Squall and Zell. Selphie drew her shinobu but Quistis let her whip hang at her side; Seifer's eyes were bloodshot with crying, his cheeks soaking now as his voice caught in his throat.

"What's going on....?" Aeon asked the others, thinking they were in on something he wasn't. The blank stares, shrugging shoulders and shaking heads told him otherwise.

"God knows..." Quistis merely replied.

Meanwhile, Squall was concentrating on slowing the kiss with Zell. He had served his purpose; Seifer was weakened...but it was so hard to pull himself away, to draw himself out of this nirvana...

He slowly drew his arms away from Zell while their mouths were still locked, Rinoa's voice faintly audible in the background; _That's enough Squall, you've got work to do..._although there was a certain sadness in her voice now.

The scarred teen pulled away slowly, his eyes meeting Zell's half closed ones. For a second, he thought he had seen a purple glare in his lover's eye, but Zell closed his eyes again and sagged back against the wall. Squall suspected Rinoa's magic had had something to do with the blond's sudden vigour but he didn't care. He'd finish that later, when they didn't have an audience....

He walked back towards Seifer, his eyes meeting Selphies – he nodded backwards slightly, signalling her to return to Zell's side. She obeyed while he wiped his lips for Seifer's benefit.

The blond was a pitiful wreck now, his legs hanging limply under the ice block, his head bowed, his eyes streaming with tears.

"Where is Ultimecia, Seifer...?"

Squall's voice with laced with honey, dripping with venom. He had stirred thoughts in Seifer a GF had long since over ridden, feelings Ultimecia had long since eradicated. He had reminded the knight of a time when he was happy, and had shown him what he had given up, all those years ago...

"She...." he heaved a giant sob, accepting defeat "...She's in Dollet, somewhere." Another sob. "There's some library there she's doing research in, something about the old kings..." he was more in control now, but his eyes were still red and puffy, his voice still dry and his cheeks still wet "...She's waiting for me...I can feel her...Wanting me...."

For a second, Squall felt pity for his enemy, then remembered all the he'd done; in the battles since Ultimecia's emergence and before then...and all the pity was gone.

"Thank you, Seifer..."

A wave of his hand at Rinoa's suggestion and the ice block melted. Seifer was soaking wet as he collapsed, curling into the foetal position, his sobs overwhelming him again.

Quistis, Irvine and Aeon looked at Squall, seeking an explanation. Quistis' eye brows were arched so high that they almost disappeared into her hairline, while the boys wore looks of awe and trepidation.

"We need to get out of here...." was all Squall said, before he returned to Zell's side. Gathering his lover in his arms, he led the group out of the massive room they had found themselves and back into the great glass room from before; a before that seemed like a lifetime in the past, but so close at the same time.

Irvine, the last one out, closed the door behind him, Seifer left where he was, crying, wet, weak.

"I'm so sorry, Squall..." no one but Squall heard, thanks to some magic he wished he never had.

-

They were back in Deling, back in Caraway's Mansion. They had formed a tight circle in the glass room while Squall, with Zell still in his arms, cast an ancient magic that warped the six of them out of the flying space craft. They had come out of the vortex that had enveloped them somewhere on the Galbadia plains, halfway between Deling City and the Tomb of the Unknown King, Hyne's Craft hovering a few miles above them, a dot against the sun that was high in the sky.

They had little trouble travelling back; even with Zell in his arms, Squall never faltered, and after two hours walking they had strolled, dusty, hungry and tiring into the Galbadia Parade.

Caraway had barely noticed their absence.

And so they had gone their separate ways for a while; some to eat, some to bathe, some to sleep. Squall, however, never left Zell's side. He put him in one of the comfiest beds he could find in Caraway's house, and never slept himself, even when the sun set.

It was only when Selphie had entered the room, a little after sunrise, looking a lot healthier now after a good bath, meal and night's rest, that Squall even looked up from Zell's face.

"Hey Selph..." he said, weakly "...how are you?"

On the way back to Deling, she had tired easily than the others and couldn't fight as often as she wanted; Siren may have helped her, but Ultimecia's magic had taken some toll on the young SeeD.

"I'm much better today, thanks." And she looked it, as she flashed Squall a killer smile and winked her cheeky wink. "How are you...?"

Squall sighed. "I'm okay Selph...just worried, y'know?" His hand took Zell's, his eyes turning back to Zell's angelic sleeping face.

"Squall...I'm sure he's going to be fine. I'd stop worrying, and take a break for god sakes!" she smiled again, before she sat on the bed beside Zell and stared intently at Squall "But y'know Squall....we all want to know what happened back their...Aeon's got some crazy theory that you hypnotised Seifer, and Quistis thinks you tortured him somehow with your voice..." Squall laughed slightly "...but I think it was something else..."

She never said, but her eyes, always wiser to the less obvious, told Squall that she knew exactly what had gone on. He smiled and released Zell's hand before tucking the duvet around him tighter and nodding. "I guess I'd better explain then..."

And so Selphie had gathered everyone in the now familiar living room of the Caraway Mansion; she called it a strategy meeting but everyone knew only Squall would be talking, for the first while anyway. They all wore curious but happy faces as they had appeared, Irvine from the Junk Shop on the Parade, Aeon from some club near the Presidential Residence, and Quistis from the library in the back of the Mansion. They looked Squall over, one by one, looks of reverence and fear mingled with relief had having survived Seifer and Ultimecia again.

"I guess I owe you guys an explanation...." Squall started, the others nodding, prompting a laugh from the scarred commander.

And so he began to tell his story.

-

_R&R Please, really unsure about this chapter right now :P_

_Next chapter will be Squall's explanation if I decide to keep this chapter hehe _


	23. The Side That No One Saw

**Chapter Twenty Three – The Side That No One Saw**

"First of all Aeon, in case you didn't know we all grew up together in an orphanage in Cetra" Squall began, prompting more nods for the group of friends around him and a raised eyebrow from the dark ninja. "One by one, Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and Zell were adopted or moved out or started school in other countries; for years we never saw each other." A fleeting sad look crossed his features. "It was only when Ellone left, though, for the last time that I really felt alone."

Selphie smiled sadly while Quistis took Squall's hand in a maternal, soothing way. Irvine had Selphie's head on his shoulder and her hand on his knee, so he relaxed by pleating his fingers through her hair and pushing his head back against the beige upholstery of the couch. Aeon tucked a brown cushion between his legs and his stomach as he leaned his head on one hand and held a lollipop to his lips with the other.

"Of course, she'd left us before. She'd moved from safe house to safe house, travelled the world in the white SeeD ship..." he knew Aeon would understand all this, having spent so long with Caraway, who would undoubtedly have filled his protégé in on everything concerning the SeeDs pasts, so he didn't bother with unnecessary explanations of the who's, why's, where's."...but it was when she left for good; when she gave me her ring because she knew she wouldn't be back, that it hurt the most. By then, Quis and Irvine were gone, Selphie was in the process of getting adopted and the Dincht's had already taken a shine to Zell on their visits." The sad look lifted somewhat "...And so it was just me. Just me and Seifer...."

Aeon gasped. His eyes flew wide (almost as wide as his mouth) at this revelation; "Seifer?" He questioned. "Seifer? He grew up with you guys...?"

The others nodded, some smiling, some frowning; Irvine with closed eyes as he edged closer to becoming comatose. This, obviously, Caraway hadn't mentioned. "...wow...." was all the he could manage in the end. Squall smiled slightly.

"You wouldn't believe it, huh?" He sat back in the chair, Quistis' hand still in his. She sensed a raw pain in her friend that she felt compelled to heal and fix, at least in lieu of Zell's consciousness. "But yeah, it ended up just me and Seifer. Me, Edea, Cid and Seifer. Cid, of course, by the time Zell had been adopted was obsessed with the idea of building the Garden, so he was never around. Edea was obsessed with the white SeeD and protecting Ellone; aside from the times she was confined to her bed of course....she was always so ill..." he paused for a moment; it suddenly made sense. After Edea had received Ultimecia's power in the Garden, she had fluctuated between bouts of delirious happiness to weeks on end with a fever and migraines in bed. Was this the beginning of the warped sorceress' influence over their matron? He shook the thought from his head. Now was not the time.

"So mostly it was me and Seifer. For the most part, we bickered, we argued. We could never agree on whose turn it was to be it when we played hide and seek..." his lips turned involuntarily upwards "...but we started to look out for each other. When the bigger kids in the orphanage ever tried to steal food or money or toys from us we'd always stick together; as we got older we started spending more and more time together. I would have called him my best friend, if not for the amount of times we spent snarling at each other." He laughed now, his eyes lost in a reverie. He began to slip into his past, the others starting to disappear around him. "But then we went from friends come enemies to roommates. When we turned 11, Cid had finally completed Balamb Garden, and with Edea becoming more and more ill, he enrolled us as students...."

-

_Seifer wouldn't leave him alone. The whole journey, he niggled him, he teased him, he pinched him. Every time he picked up a book to read he would have it snatched from him, whenever he put in his headphone he would have them pulled out. Thank god Squall had discovered this breathing thing; he'd read a book about meditation that he'd found in Matron's room a couple of months back, explaining the effectiveness of controlling your breathing._

_He was too focused on calming his chakras that he didn't notice on the whole train ride from Galbadia to Balamb, Seifer sat much closer to him than necessary._

_Cid greeted them, finally, at the grand entrance to a building that mesmerised Squall; his young, innocent, honey eyes taking in the most beautiful building he had ever seen. His new home. Seifer stood in front of him, blocking the wonderful creation from view, his eyes dancing with excitement, his smile broad across his handsome, boyish features._

"_C'mon Leonheart! Get your butt in gear"_

_He stuck his tongue out over his shoulder, Squall stifling a smile as he went to speak to their foster father of sorts; their headmaster._

_-_

"I didn't know you arrived at Garden together!" Quistis pointed out, her voice accentuating the 'arrived' "I mean, I obviously saw you both there when I got to Garden but it never occurred to me that you had went together!"

Squall thought for a moment. "You know....I've only just remembered it myself..." The smile was constant across his face now as he rediscovered his buried past. "....Yeah...Edea had said bye to us in the fall; we were the last two to leave the orphanages. It was the saddest day of my life, seeing Matron cry that much..." The smile faltered, but didn't fade "...We'd taken a boat from Cetra to Galbadia, and we'd got there at the start of Winter...An orphanage run by Edea's cousin or aunt or some such cared for us until spring and then we took the train to Balamb in time for Easter..."

Squall laughed at the clarity of his memories; for not having thought of these in the past four, five, six years, it was beginning to seem like it was just yesterday. "...Anyway." he started again "...We went through the first few semesters as much as we had at that orphanage. We fought, we bickered, we never agreed. But it was just us two. We sat together at the cafeteria, arguing and name calling. In class, trying to beat each other and distract one another. Cid had even had the good grace to give us the same room, so we didn't have to feel pressured into talking to other kids from different backgrounds..."

-

_The stars cast a silvery white glow into their bedroom. Squall sat shining his gunblade, Seifer lay with his walkman in, topless. They were 13 or 14, and both had stubble that they weren't quite sure how to shave correctly._

_They had been the first kids to leave the spring dance. Two years into this new life and neither of them had gotten used to mingling with kids with parents. They were much more comfortable in each other's company; niggling, arguing, jeering._

"_Hey Leonheart!" Seifer sat up on his bed "D'you mind turning off the light now fuckwit, I wanna get some sleep..!"_

_Squall smiled. Familiar territory._

"_Why don't you get up off your own lazy ass and switch it off yourself? Or is that head of yours so heavy you need the lie down?"_

_Seifer smiled too, a fire dancing in his blue eyes._

"_Which head are you talking about...?"_

_The typical big headed, macho, Seifer response. Squall laughed._

"_Prick." He retorted as his hand found the light. Now that the light from the stars was all that lit the room and Seifer had turned off his walkman, the pale light from outside coupled with the cricket's singing in the nearby Training Centre filled with the room with the kind of calming atmosphere that could reduce grown men to tears._

"_Squall?" came the croak in the darkness._

_The dark haired teen had been putting his revolver back in the case that Cid had given it to him in, the now immaculate surface bouncing the light from the stars back into Squall's eyes and around the room. The tender timbre of Seifer's voice had startled him; it very rarely made an appearance, only marginally more common than Seifer calling him by his first name._

"_What's up?" Squall asked, worried. He turned to face his roommate, his arms folding across his lightly muscled midriff._

"_Let's run away."_

_Squall hadn't been expecting that. He stopped breathing, he stopped blinking; his brain took in the words but didn't process the meaning._

"_...R-Run...away?!? Together...?"_

_Seifer sat up in his bed._

"_Yeah! We could do it. I can fight like a motherfucker now, and with you to watch my back I could kill any monster that came our way..." Squall snorted, but Seifer continued. "Let's get back on that train, back on that boat. Let's go back to that place we came from....Where was it, again?"_

_Squall unfolded his arms and sat on Seifer's bed. He stared intently into the blond's blue eyes and saw a shared longing there; where was there home? It had been bothering Squall for a while now – he knew that they had come here together, but he couldn't for the life of him where from._

"_I don't remember, Seifer..."_

_The blond's eyes became sombre, sad. He knew that his own eyes reflected that sadness, he caught a glimpse of himself in the clear pools; a young, slightly goofy looking but handsome with it, Squall wearing a confused but tempted look on his face._

"_Why do you want to run away? With me?"_

_Seifer smiled, evilly. "Because you and I don't fit in here; this isn't where I want to be! This is isn't what I expect for myself!" Seifer sat next to Squall now, his face inches away and lined with passion as he spoke. "I ought to be taking over the world, travelling from place to place earning money, gathering followers, gaining respect. And you oughta be doing it with me...." Seifer took Squall's hand in his; the move both startled and pleased him "...I don't know why Squall, but I only feel me when I'm with you..."_

_Squall couldn't stop it. He saw it coming, he knew it was happening, but he couldn't stop it. Did he want to stop it?_

_He couldn't remember. All that he knew was he and Seifer were kissing; and the bulge in his pants was telling him he liked it..._

-

"Oh. My god." Was all Selphie could muster; he hand was clasped loosely over her broadly grinning mouth, her eyes alight with excitement. "Squall...that has to be the sweetest thing I've ever heard!"

Squall blushed. "I'd forgotten all about that too. I dunno where these memories are coming from..." But he kept smiling.

"So when you and Seifer went missing that time....?" Quistis asked. She'd been at the Garden around 18 months and Squall and Seifer had been her buddies in class; the only buddies she had made. She had felt drawn to them inexplicably and when they had randomly gone missing one day she'd been lost without them.

Squall nodded. "Yeah. We ran away."

Irvine's eyes were wide open now, and he and Aeon were sitting forward in their seats, smiles and wide eyes drawn in their faces. "Where did you go?"

"Timber."

-

_The bedsit was disgusting. The covers had holes in it and the blinds were missing every second strip. The sunshine flowing from outside made the dust in the air even more visible; Squall hated it._

_He was freezing. Even in the middle of the day, the drafts that passed through this sky scraper were bone chilling. The quilt did nothing to heat him up; the only source of warmth was Seifer._

_He was enveloped in his warmth, an island in the middle of the Seifer Sea. _

_Neither of them had a job. They were running out of what little money they had gathered up between them, and they were living in the most squalid little place imaginable. A hooker rented the room next theirs; across from here was a family of Estharian refugees and above them a Winhill couple were going at it like rabbits._

_But in the ocean of chaos, there was the oasis of paradise, with Squall and his Seifer._

"_Leonheart..." Seifer groaned "...your crushing my arm; I think you need to lose some weight..."_

_Squall slapped the blond playfully. Even when they were like this, Seifer was still an asshole._

_But at least he was his asshole._

_-_

"So you two were living in some dingy bedsit in Timber?" Irvine asked, a disgusted look on his face. When Squall nodded the positive, he sank back into the couch. "Man, that is bleak...."

Squall chuckled softly. "I know. But we were happy. We were rebelling against something, but we didn't know what. We were running from and to something; but we didn't know that either. But we were together, and in our warped way we were happy." Squall sighed, sadly but happily "We never made love the entire time we were gone. We kissed and cuddled, and after dark we went out into the plains to fight; mainly each other but occasionally we sneaked into the forests and hunted Ochu."

"How long were you gone?" Selphie asked, snapping Squall out of his happy memories. It was Quistis, however, that answered.

"Five weeks, Three days." Matter of factly, she cocked her head to one side and widened her eyes at Squall. "I thought I was doomed to a life of sitting in the cafeteria myself and having no competition in class." Squall smirked. "I ran away as well; the only clue I had was the train station in Balamb. Squall and Seifer had been seen getting on the Transcontinental, Cid had been told, but Dollet, Deling or Timber; they could have been anywhere. So I started with the closest...."

-

_The train slowed into the station under cover of darkness. Just outside the city limits, Squall and Seifer were walking home from their night of sparring; they were arguing, obviously. They hadn't noticed the blond girl wandering the street a little way ahead of them until she had rounded on them._

"_SQUALL LEONHEART!"_

_They both stopped short, their gunblades pointed before them._

_Quistis Trepe; big, thick glasses, her hair wavy and messy about her face, freckly cheeks and a next-to-flat chest. Seifer groaned. Squall hugged her._

"_Quistis!" Squall cried, elated._

-

"She brought us back. I started missing Garden when she showed up, and while she had slept of the journey I used all of my persuasion to bring Seifer back with us." Squall's eyes flashed evilly.

Selphie gasped, then buckled with laughter, realising what he meant. "You didn't!"

Squall, smirking, nodded his head and replied "We did."

Seifer had been Squall's first everything – first kiss, first love, first fuck. Squall remembered the events vividly all of a sudden, but not wanting to mentally scar his audience, he left that particular memory out. Going over in his brain what had gone on of importance once they had returned to Garden, Squall started to frown.

"So we came back to Garden; in love, I thought." Squall sighed. "Things went back to normal; after a couple of weeks in disciplinary we were back in our usual seats in our usual classes and we settled back into our usual routine. But something had started to annoy Seifer; he got nastier in his name calling, more vicious in his arguments. When we had come back to Garden we agreed to keep our relationship a secret, and only acted like a couple in our dorm or in the Training Centre, late at night."

Selphie cooed; "Awwww."

"But just after I turned 15, Seifer began to change. He started to lash out; he never hit me!" Squall pointed out, seeing the shock in his friends' eyes "Well, never domestically anyway. He started getting annoyed with the slightest thing – his eyes started to lose their fire and he rarely smiled unless he was fighting me."

"Inferiority complex" Quistis started. "Seifer had always felt, since they'd come back from Timber, that Squall was more powerful than he was, because when he had decided to come home, they had." She sighed. "I'd started to right his behaviour off as problematic, but now that I really start remembering, he was hating Squall; hating him for loving him..."

Squall's eyes were truly sad now; the honey colour was as dark as any of them had seen it, and the redness told them he was threatening tears.

"One day I found him in our dorm. We had agreed to meet there instead of going to lunch one day, and I presumed he had just been horny..."

-

_Squall practically skipped to the dormitories while everyone else headed in the opposite direction, for the cafeteria. He waved at Quistis as she passed, and hi-fived that Dincht boy as he called out a "Yo Squall!" on his way to get his daily dose of hot dogs. He had started to hang out with Quistis a lot more, and by extension he sat at the table with them from time to time. Squall liked him; there was an effervescent energy pulsating of him, constantly._

_Turning along the wide corridors that marked the male shared dorms, Squall smiled as he breathed in the scents of Petuli flowers and Jasmine, the favoured plants of the Gardening committee. Sure, Seifer could be a little ratty, and he didn't do himself any favours by keeping up the bad boy image; but Squall still loved him. He knew that somewhere, underneath the tough exterior, the Seifer that had needed him to run away with him still lingered._

_He turned the door knob, a smile still on his features, when an unfamiliar moan filled his ears._

"_Seiferr...."_

_Squall started. That was a woman's voice....it was a woman's moan. His heart stopped beating. Did he really want to go in here? Did he really want..?._

_He steeled himself; yes, he would find this out. He was probably jumping to conclusions. Seifer loved him...._

_Or so he thought._

_The girl from library, laid bare on HIS bed, no Seifer's, writhed in pleasure as Seifer, his head tossed back and his eyes closed with lust, penetrated her deeper and better than anyone else ever had. His well sculpted naked body moved in a sinuous movement with hers, the dance of passion filling the room with the sound of skin slapping together and of deep, husky moan and high pitched squeals._

_Squall was stunned. With an audible gasp he brought his hand up to his mouth, shocking the two love makers out of their throes for a moment; Seifer's head snapped to Squall and a look of instantaneous guilt crossed his features; the librarian had scrambled to hide herself beneath the quilt._

"_What the FUCK are you doing, pervert?" She asked, an annoying squeak in his ear. Squall couldn't tear his eyes from Seifer. Seifer; beautiful Seifer, his Seifer. Feeling tears forming in his eyes, he turned and ran out form the dormitory._

_Heartbroken, 16 year old Squall didn't stop running til he was on Balamb Beach with no more ground to run across._

_He cried, for the first time in his memory._

_-_

The silence was ear piercing. No one said anything while Squall stared at the cream carpet ad mulled over his memories silently. The smile from earlier was gone, replaced now with a frown and tear glazed eyes.

"I..uh...I never went back to the dorm. When I got back to Garden I had Zell get my gunblade for me and I found an empty dorm to sleep in until Cid found out and moved me in with another guy....Steve, or something, his name was..." Squall sniffed and looked up, a slight smile on his features "...Seifer tried to talk to me in class and at lunchtime. It didn't matter whether we were doing a written exam or I was cutting a Grat up, he was always there, for two months solid. Full of I'm sorry's and I love you's. He actually looked remorseful..."

Selphie moved over to Squall's other side and pulled him into one of her famous bear hugs while he continued. "...I was on the verge of forgiving, the verge of taking him back. But when I woke up that morning Seifer had changed tack."

Quistis rubbed his hand. "I know when you mean. The Quad?"

Squall nodded in reply to her question. The others exchanged quizzical looks.

"There was a show in the Quad, and Seifer had ran in late..."

-

_Squall hung at the back of the crowd. The Garden Committee was putting on a practice show that every student was obliged to attend. He had tried to avoid it in the Training Centre but a faculty had found him and dragged him – literally._

_He and Zell stood with their backs rested against the back wall, Quistis dancing with her new found followers, 'The Trepies' somewhere in front of them. Squall hadn't even seen him coming._

_Seifer, flanked by the new kids, Fuijin and Raijn, swaggered into the Quad. He had on a new coat, a long, white number with red crosses on each shoulder. Zell had noticed and nudged his companion, having noticed the shift in dynamic between them._

"_Ah, shit..." was all Squall mustered as he noticed the blond heading straight for him._

"_Dincht! Leonheart!" Seifer sneered. Squall had never seen his teeth bared so evilly, his eyes glazed so coolly "You're on the list for loitering."_

_Fuijin and Raijin laughed; flunkies. Seifer seemed gratified when they did so and joined in._

"_Seifer...?" Squall asked. He had been up all night contemplating forgiving him, and had decided to have a serious talk in private. Seifer stopped laughing, shocked that Squall had spoken to him let alone said his name. His eyes momentarily softened but he quickly regained his composure. "Can I talk to y..."_

"_Oh fuck off, fag...."_

_More laughs from the flunkies. More gratification. Zell tensed beside Squall and Seifer started to hurl an insult at him, but Squall zoned out. Sure, they had argued in the past, but the venom that rolled off Seifer's tongue when he'd sneered "fag" had hurt Squall more than any injury he had received in battle. He calmly and quietly walked away; he knew that both Seifer and Zell called after him (one voice in concern, the other in leering jest) but he didn't make out the words. He merely slipped past the faculty and retreated to the safety of his dorm._

_And he cried._

_-_

"And the rest is history." Squall ended. "We never shared a friendly word again until the field exam. I retreated behind the walls that Seifer had demolished after Ellone had left and absorbed myself in my studies. The day became weeks and the weeks months, and I started to forget why I hated Seifer so much. It was only yesterday that it all came back to me...."

Selphie and Quistis both jumped and a strong pair of arms encircled around Squall's chest. The scarred teen didn't seem to register at first, until a soft whisper in his ear told him who it was; "I'm here for you".

It was barely loud enough for Squall to hear, so he knew none of the others had heard it, but he knew it was Zell. He let one solitary tear slip; he didn't know how long Zell had been listening, but he knew that this is what he wanted now. His frown, brought on by the pain of his memories, turned into a light smile as his heart thumped ever so slightly quicker and his blood pumped warmer at the touch of his love.

"Zell..."

Squall turned his head up and kissed Zell on the cheek.

The blond martial artist settled between Squall and Quistis, his arms wrapped protectively around Squall, while Selphie returned to her seat beside Irvine. With Zell back, all conversation about Seifer ended; everyone knew the back story now, and could pretty much guess what Squall had done to Seifer on Hyne's Craft – there was no need to go over it more than necessary.

After a couple of minutes of light talking, mainly to let Squall gather his though, the conversation soon turned to Ultimecia; and what they were going to do about her.

_R&R As usual please; I'm quite happy with this chapter but I'd love any views at all ___


	24. Time Travel and Dream Sequence

**Time Travel and Dream Sequence**

"But then that would mean that Time is still compressing...."

The words hung the air for a moment, everyone taking in the ramifications of their possible validity. Quistis' voice shook as she said that word _still_ and Zell instinctively drew closer to Squall for comfort. Irvine's eyes, though closed, were scrunched with worry and concentration, while Selphie had started pacing the room when the conversation had turned to the matter at hand.

The group had been discussing for well over two hours now just exactly they were going to do about Ultimecia. They decided that before they took a plan of action they should figure out exactly what it was that had brought her back – if anything.

So far, the only explanation any of them could come up with was that they had not killed the sorceress when they'd fought her; and none of them was willing to accept that as the truth. Squall saw her die, didn't he?

He played over the events again and again in his head, bringing to the forefront of his thoughts the memories that he had been trying to suppress for over a year now. He thought he could hear Rinoa's voice, talking him through what he had seen – and it comforted him just as much as Zell's body against his.

"Wait a minute..." he began, his brows furrowing "...I saw Ultimecia die in the past...I saw myself when I was five years old...which would mean that Ultimecia died thirteen years ago..."

The group wore baffled looks as they followed what he said.

"...but we didn't fight her thirteen years ago, we fought her in the future – Hyne knows when in the future! Which would mean that..."

"...between being defeated in the future and dying in the past, Ultimecia was travelling through time."

Everyone turned their heads to Aeon, who had taken to sharpening his shruiken in the corner, at Caraway's desk. He wore a bemused expression – everyone was staring at him in disbelief. He had been decidedly silent during their long conversation.

"Yeah...that's what I was getting at." Squall smiled.

"But if we defeated her in the future and she's travelling back through time, she should still be injured – she looked fine the other night!" Irvine piped up.

"And she's not any weaker..." Selphie sighed as she rubbed her back – she still wasn't 100%, still suffering a little from being sucked dry by that weird bubble the sorceress had conjured.

"And she's just as clever..." Zell added.

They all nodded. Their brows darkened and their lips tightened as they thought hard and long into the night. Zell fell asleep against Squall's chest while he was thinking – he was still exhausted the fight with Seifer. He tightened his grip around Squall as he fell deeper into his dreams.

-

_The fluidity of the blackness was astounding. This time, he could swim in it. There was no restriction, no aggression, no contempt – the substance let him pass where he placed, unhindered. It was calming, relaxing, swimming in nothing with nothing to think about._

_But there was something he had to do – and he couldn't quite remember what. Something niggled at the back of his mind as he swam, and it began to grate. He was swimming, but he suddenly realised he didn't know why, where or how. He started to panic, his breath becoming more ragged and laboured as the blackness started to close in on him. As his panic rose so did the blackness' solidity, and with it came the restriction, the aggression that he thought had passed._

_And there before him, a light began to shine._

_He tried to swim for it, but the blackness was coiling around his limbs and snaking in and out between his legs, fastening him in place. The light ahead shone brightly, and he quickly realised that it wasn't just a light – but a projector._

_The images on the screen were fast and hurried – there were only quick moments of distinction. Silver hair, a sword, a gun, a whip, a staff. There were people but they were fighting, and it was hard to make out who they were. One fell, a vision in white, and was quickly followed by another who seemed strangely familiar – long brunette locks and a magnificent silver gun in his arm._

_The other characters danced with their weapons draw and their magicks cast – one figure alone stood out from the rest, a figure so menacing and terrifying that he tried to turn his head away; but the darkness held his eyes and head in place. The figures sword was ferocious, it was long and menacing and it felled another of its adversaries – this one fell into a pool of water with a golden whip in her hand._

_From what he could see, there were three people left fighting the man with the sword. Gunshots still rang out, but they were different from the ones that would resonate from a rifle or handgun – it was a gunblade. Chains clinked and clanged, reminding him of someone he knew who used a shinobou...who was that again? And then finally, the sword felled another fighter, and a black figure fell from the scene with a shruiken at his feet._

_Suddenly, just as his first tear began to fall (he didn't know why, but watching this pained him) he became suddenly aware that he was not alone in the blackness. He could feel two pairs of eyes on him, and while the scene before him was terrifying and captivating, it could not calm the feeling of unease that began to seep into his core._

_The blackness seemed to release itself a little, and he found that he could move his hands, his feet, his head. He began to fight the blackness again, trying to find a way out from this hell, away from the fight, from the people he knew were watching him._

_Upwards, he tried to escape, but just as he gained enough freedom to swim in the blackness again, something else caught him foot and stopped him going further._

_Looking down, he stared into the eyes of a monster..._

_-_

"ULTIMECIA!"

Zell's shout startled the rest of the group. Squall jumped slightly before quickly wrapping his arms around the blond martial artist tighter; he was coated in a thin veil of cold sweat, his breath was laboured and his eyes were bloodshot – as though he had been crying, but his cheeks were dry of tears.

"Are you okay Zelly....?" Selphie asked curiously.

He took a moment to gain his bearings – they all looked so fine, healthy, but just moments ago he had seen them all...  
"I think we should give up for the night..." Squall said slowly, looking at his watch. 3am. He turned his gaze to his friend, his love "...what do you think?"

A reluctant nod from Zell was all he needed. He scooped the smaller man into his arms and made for the door, his arms tightly and protectively around the blond.

"Let's meet back up in the morning, it's getting late and we're all exhausted..."

Selphie and Quistis merely nodded, Irvine made for the door at the other side of them room (which he knew lead to the comfier rooms), followed by Aeon. As Squall started up the stairs the girls' faint "Goodnights" followed them – responded by a feeble "Night" on Zell's part.

"Are you okay?" Squall asked him as they found themselves on the landing where Zell's room was. The martial artist has wound one of his hands into Squall's hair, the other hanging loosely off of his neck. "You seem upset..."

"I...I'll tell you tomorrow, Squall..." Was all he could reply. He buried his face into Squall's chest as they found the door to his room, and was disappointed when Squall lay him on the bed and relinquished his grip on him.

"Okay...but don't worry about Ultimecia for now – as long as I'm around she's not getting to you..." He mustered a small smile that Zell just about managed to replicate, before planting a soft kiss on the blonde's forehead. "I'll see you in the morning..."

Squall turned to leave the room, but was stopped by Zell's hand on his wrist. He looked down, surprised – Butterflies roared in his stomach.

"Don't leave, Squall...."

Squall felt a tear come to his eyes as he heard Zell's voice crack as he said his name, and decided not to ruin the moment with words- a small nod and another kiss on the head, then he started to climb into bed beside him.

A few moments of awkward undressing under the covers and Zell found himself dressed only in his briefs while Squall wound his hand around his midriff – he was only wearing a pair of tight fitting boxers.

"I'm here as long as you want me, Zell..."

Zell smiled and pulled the brunette into a kiss – quick, awkward, messy. But a kiss.

"Always, Squall..."

The blond turned away and allowed himself to be spooned by the taller, muscular man that he knew he had fallen in love with.

-

_R&R Please?_

_I'm trying to hold off the yaoi stuff for now, I want to wade through all the plot twists and sub-plots before I get to the lemon hehe_

_Thanks to everyone who's still reading! It really means a lot =)_


	25. Bad Dreams

**Bad Dreams.**

_Black, everywhere. He had given up trying to move what seemed like hours ago, when his legs had began to burn from exertion and his arms had turned to jelly. He resigned himself to staying there until the black liquefied, or until he was set free. He had spent some time focusing on the white screen that he found so very familiar but after nothing appeared on it his attention had quickly diverted to trying to figure out what he was doing there._

_And he was getting nowhere._

_He sighed, tested his invisible manacles for any change and was disappointed. His legs no longer burned and his arms were strong and hale again, but he suspected the slightest of movements would exact astronomical energy. So he simply waited._

"_You cannot win"_

_His head snapped up to the screen, a shadow crossing it's surface and beginning to coalesce and mutate into larger and darker and more numerous shapes. No further sound emanated for the moment, but Zell watched on, transfixed, for as long as at took._

_In the end, a familiar scene was splayed across the screen._

_The long, silver-haired being was there again, his sword taller than an ordinary man at his side. The ground was littered with bodies - a brunette lay lifeless with a throwing star at his right hand, a visibly young girl dressed all in white had a staff broken over her back, the small stream at one side was host to a vision of pink with a golden whip floating away downstream while a long haired gunman lay covered in blood, his guns smoking where the barrel had been sliced from the trigger.. And still standing, two figures opposite the swordsman, on the near side of a blue stone bridge._

_A scar-faced man stood aside a small, almost scrawny girl who donned a blinding yellow mini-dress and a set of nunchuks. She was panting heavily and visibly, and every so often the silver haired assailant waved his massive sword in their direction, only to have it deflected by her skill with the underestimated weapon._

_It could no hold out long though. The scarred man surveyed the situation with absolute concentration, a helpless look crossing his features, while the girl repeatedly deflected the attacks of the enemy, sacrificing chunks of the wood from her weapon in the process. They would not hold out forever._

_Without warning, the scarred man rushed forward, his hand to the scar on his forehead. The silver man raised his sword straight in the air, more than doubling his height, and obviously made to crash his steel atop the oncoming assault._

_The scarred man, however, vanished. The silver swordsman looked on, shocked, as he watched the bodies all disappear, ending with the yellow girl._

_A thin film of fog descended on the scene, with the swordsman swiping wildly around at anything visible. The ground began to frost and the stream on either side of the bridge began to freeze over. The green eyes of the swordsman were wide as he cursed and hissed, rooted to the spot suddenly._

_A vision of blue and white appeared opposite the swordsman. A slender, womanly figured solidified out of the frost and fog, he long blue and gold locks trailing behind her, caught in a breeze that affected only her._

_Across her blue skin, patches of white ice and silver streaked in the most stunning patterns, her blue eyes dotted white rather than black. She towered over the swordsman by at least three heads and wore a coy smile._

_She took a few seconds sizing up her opponent, before launching her hands high in the air and closing her eyes and furrowing her brow in concentration. The swordsman, still rooted in place, began to snarl, revealing gleaming white teeth that almost clashed with his brilliant green eyes, which had an un-almost super-natural gleam. For some reason, he began to smile._

_He found himself screaming at the screen, inexplicably. He felt some indescribable connection to the people opposing this swordsman, and the figure facing him just now stirred unsettling memories in him; battlefields, guns, swords, magic…fists…_

_The ice woman had gathered a glowing orb between her outstretched arms, her palms shaking from over-exertion. The orb emanated more fog and even from behind the screen, it was visibly well below freezing temperature. The fog around the woman began to coalesce and thicken, so much so that pretty soon all that was visible was the glowing of the orb and the unnatural glint in the swordsman's piercing eyes. _

_He screamed more frantically, being overcome by the most inexplicable sense of foreboding._

_The orb began to hover before the ice woman, who began to lift her right hand to her face - she kissed her index and middle finger, and from this emanated yet more fog. She closed her eyes, and what looked like tears feel from her azul eyes. _

_The tears were solid ice, and the orb drew these, too, into it's freezing embrace. It began to move of it's own accord, floating up, high above the woman's head, beginning to swirl frantically and erratically, the woman's lithe form beginning to quake, her eyes still closed, her fingers still mere millimeters from her lips._

_Her eyes snapped open. She launched her right hand into the centre of the rolling orb, and spun around on her left foot, three hundred and sixty degrees. And when she faced the swordsman again, she hurled the orb in his direction._

_The fog dispersed, flowing into the orb as it flew at it's target with unmatchable speed and velocity. It hurtled towards the swordsman, whose snarl had become a leer, whose eyes were glowing with even more fervor._

_The orb hit him square in the chest. It exploded over his form, sweeping like a tidal wave to encase him in a tomb of ice. An explosion of light emanated from the impact, blinding him with such a force that he feel back onto his backside, his arm shielding his eyes._

_For a moment, nothing. But then the light dimmed, giving way to the scene once more._

_The woman still stood, a look of defiant victory on her strikingly beautiful features. The scarred man appeared by her side, the petite girl in the yellow mini dress a little behind him. The bodies littered the ground once more. The swordsman had become a statue of ice, a horrible testimony to the power of the ice woman._

_He smiled. He somehow felt the elation that was evident in the faces of those still standing. The scarred man turned to the ice woman, nodding with a slight smile, which she returned. She snapped her figures and a whirl of ice began to appear around her, a carriage to take her back to wherever she had come from. _

_But then, a horrible, sickening cracking sound._

_The ice halted in it's tracks, the ice woman's features becoming a visage of horror and awe. She stared at the statue she had created, and her companions turned back to the other side of the bridge._

_It happened so fast, almost too quickly to follow._

_The ice crumbled away from the swordsman, who seemed less than phased at his temporary entrapment. His sword flew forward too rapidly for the small girl to deflect with her nunchuks, and missed the scarred man by mere inches, only due to his spontaneous roll to the left. The ice woman threw her hand up and a wall of ice appeared from nowhere, but it was shattered on impact, the massive sword managing to scratch her cheek._

_Blue blood flowed onto the bridge, rage sweeping across her face. She flew forward, jumping high into the air and turning, in a swan dive motion, to face the swordsman. An ear splitting cry came from her throat, the blood of all who heard lacing with ice. Surely she would win, surely a mere man would fall beneath her grace and might._

_Alas, no._

_The swordsman, with another swift sweep of his sword, impaled the woman in mid air. The cry faltered on her lips, replaced with the sound of blood gurgling in the hollows of her godly throat. She clutched her stomach in clear agony, her eyes scrunching under the weight of the pain she felt. The sword began to frost where her blood touched steel, but that didn't hold of the assailant. He thrust his sword deeper, the beautiful woman sliding down it's length until she hit the hilt._

_The swordsman smiled evilly. With his free right hand he cupped her cheeks, almost lovingly, the gleam glowing in his eyes. A head butt sent her flying along the length of steel in her abdomen, tears made of mere salt water and not ice flowing down her fading blue cheeks._

_By the time she reached the tip of the sword, the dark blue had faded to a mere hint of grey. And then she fell to the ground, the small trickles of frost and ice still clinging to the stones begin to recede around her._

_The scarred man and the small girl looked in horror at the sight on the bridge while the swordsman wiped his sword on the bottom of his black long coat. The ice woman gurgled a few more times, the colour of her skin still paling, until eventually she was a mere woman, no hint of ice or frost. Even her beauty faded, leaving a crumpled, naked corpse where only a few moments ago had been a goddess._

_The small girl wasn't ready. The swordsman leaped high into the air while she began to cry, her nunchuks falling to the ground as her hands began to climb to cover her gaping, horrified mouth. It cost her her head._

_The scarred teen could only watch as it rolled away from her body, eventually landing in a small splash in the stream that had already swallowed the woman in pink to it's watery depths._

_The scarred teen looked around. With every lifeless body his eyes crossed, his eyes shone with more unshed tears. His eyes settled on the blade that still hung from his right hand. His fist curled angrily around it's hilt while the swordsman turned his attention his way._

_A flurry of swords, the scarred teen shining with a vigor and strength as he deflected the massive sword time after time, an almighty howl arising in his throat._

_And then the screen went blank._

"_NO!"_

-

"NO!"

Zell awoke with a start. Sun was streaming through the windows, a slight breeze pushing the portieres into a small, almost, sad, morning dance.

Squall was up on his elbows, a look of intense concern on his face as he stared at Zell worriedly.

"What's up baby?"

Zell didn't know what was up, he didn't know what he'd just seen or what he should do. But somehow, he inexplicably knew what he wanted.

"I…I want to speak with matron…"

He simply leaned into Squall, who said nothing, only taking the smaller boy into his embrace and nodding, gracing his forehead with fleeting kisses as tears began to stream from the blonds eyes.

-

_So I've decided to retrace my steps and rethink the story from this point. Thoughts? Beetter, worse? R&R Please!_


	26. Ragnorak Rendezvous

**Ragnorak Rendezvous.**

After tireless debate, the others finally consented to leaving Deling in search of their former matron, Edea. Zell had insisted that he not tell the others why, only that he needed to speak with her. When asked 'why?", all he could offer were 'it's hard to explain' or 'I just do', which frustrated Squall and the others, but the blond martial artist insisted with such fervor that they found it hard to argue with him.

Quistis, ever the SeeD, was reluctant to abandon their post in Deling so agreed to stay behind to follow any leads and question Caraway more, if she could get him sober enough. With her, Squall left Aeon and Irvine, leaving him to Centra with Zell and Selphie. He refused to leave Zell's side after they had eventually got out of bed that morning, the blond's eyes bloodshot and puffy, while his chest was left sticky with tears.

Zell was thankful for it though. He drew strength from his scarred love.

They left the same day, on the night train to Dollet. Squall had called Laguna and asked him to send one of the Ragnorak airships to meet them there, from where they could be at Edea's House before dawn the following morning. Laguna had needed some coxing, with Esthar still in turmoil after the effect the Lunatic Pandora had had on their infrastructure. The power supply in the City still hadn't recovered, and the best minds of the country couldn't fathom exactly what Pandora had unleashed on the radio waves and cable signals the country had relied on for almost twenty years. The monsters too, still spewed forth from Tears' Point, but in far fewer numbers and of much lesser ferocity, and while one or two still managed to rampage in the city proper for a few hours, they were for the most part kept in check by both the Esthar Army and a squad of SeeD dispatched not long after Ultimecia was defeated.

In the end, Laguna had agreed after Squall dropped Raine's name and the fact that Edea had practically raised him, a thorny subject for the Estharian President, which always seemed to end up with Squall getting exactly what he wanted. Zell had gripped his hand tightly while he spoke with Laguna, somehow sensing that it was a sorer subject to squall than he let on, never having discussed with him or the others his feelings after Laguna revealed at the celebration after the battle he was in fact Squall's father.

So they traveled on the night train, a subdued atmosphere filling the SeeD carriage as Selphie reminisced about their first mission together.

Zell was hardly listening to her. He loved her, and out of everyone she and Zell were the closest, the best of friends, but he just couldn't handle her perkiness at the moment. He kept having flashes back to the dream he had last night, the death of the Ice Woman, the slaughtering of all those people, the ghostly glint to those sparkling green eyes…

It was the first time he had remembered one of his dreams. He knew he had had dreams like it recently but this was the first time he could recall the fear that gripped his heart, the atmosphere that had penetrated deep into his being, the cloying, choking presence of the black liquid, and those terribly beautiful emerald eyes.

He felt violated, altered in the most terrible of ways. He wished more than anything that he could forget this particular aspect of the nightmare, but it was unfortunately the part that resonated most with him. He blinked and had a momentary flash of leering green orbs, pools that spoke of terrible horrors and unforgivable crimes, hollow graves that sang with madness and discord.

The memory made him shiver. Squall squeezed his hand tighter as they disembarked the train, a touch of reality that made the heaviness in the blonde's chest lighten slightly, but it wasn't nearly enough to erase it completely. Nowhere near enough.

Selphie had stopped talking, Zell didn't know for how long but he felt bad. He wished more than anything that he could shed some light on what kept him from being his usual, perky self, kept his usual vigor and energy from competing with her own, but he sensed that somehow Edea was the person to tell. In his gut he felt it.

And then he felt bad about Ma. He had always gone to her first with his problems in the past, his first crush, his first kiss, his nerves before the SeeD exams, his irritability after implicating Garden when Seifer attacked Vinzer Deling…his angst over his feelings for Squall when Rinoa died…

But this time, he couldn't go to her. She wouldn't be the first to know this particular problem, and that weighed almost as heavily on his heart as the penetrating frost that those emerald orbs had brought.

He pushed the thought aside as their Escort greeted them, momentarily dumbstruck.

Two tall, slender Esthar soldiers awaited them on the platform, their bulging muscles stretching their already tight, almost provocative, uniforms in unnecessary areas. Their pectorals rivaled his own, their abs cut gouges from the smoothness of their attire and their groins…Zell was thankful that, at least for a moment, he had been distracted from his dreaming.

He clenched, hard, on Squall's hand. This was all the man he needed.

:"Sir Leonheart!" The taller of the two announced, his helmet held under his left arm to reveal a clean shaven, tanned and undeniably beautiful face, punctuated with two amber eyes straddling a perfectly straight nose. Zell never thought that under that hideous uniform could lurk such a pleasurable feast for the eyes. "We are you're escort to the Ragnorak ship Sir Loire has gifted you, and remain with your party until you're mission is fulfilled." He stretched out his right hand, his tanned skin clashing with the almost blinding silver of his cuffs. "Dante Mecca, at your service."

Squall looked at the outstretched palm before him. Looking up, Zell saw that he wore a mask of confusion and anger, two warring emotions struggling just beneath the perfect veil that was his face. The look tore Zell's soul in two - where Dante may have stirred the groin, Squall quickened the heart and brought tears to the eyes. This was where his love was. This was where he would find the strength to go on.

Selphie took the offered hand, clearly sensing Squall was to preoccupied to indulge in formalities.

"I'm Selphie, pleased to meetcha!" She shook his hand enthusiastically, a friendly but uncomfortable smile on her lips while her eyes scrunched up with the effort. "And this here is Zell."

The mention of his own name snapped the blond out of his reveries, and made him look towards the Estharians with wide eyes, as though seeing for the first time.

"Oh…OH!" He stammered, hurriedly and awkwardly grasping Dante's hand with his left so as not to relinquish his grip on Squall. "How do you do?"

A slight smile graced Dane's features as his eyes jumped from Squall, to Selphie, to Zell, bemusement traced in his face. "Um…this is my comrade, Argent Avalos"

He nodded to his left, where the slightly shorter but obviously larger of the two stood, his helmet his still on, his stance one of caution and mistrust. Where Dante's muscles rivaled Zell's, Argent's put them to shame. His neck was almost hidden in a growth of muscle that spawned from his massive shoulders, the seems of his arms and legs looked close to bursting under the strain of holding him in and even his helmet looked full to capacity. As Selphie and Zell both wordlessly shook his hand, they both sensed that here was a man not to be messed with.

Squall merely grunted.

"Where is the airship?"

Dante seemed taken aback by the lack of formality or even civility in the statement, not after a moments pause he nodded and his face became stoic once more, shedding the bemused expression of moments before. "We landed on the cliff behind Dollet, thinking it may be better for you if you didn't have to encounter attention. Of course, we know no details of this trip and have no need to e privy to them, but we are aware that SeeD is often used in the most silent of instances.

Zell was impressed - not only did this Estharian welcome them warmly (by Estharian standards, anyway), he actually thought ahead to accommodate their potential needs. Squall, too, registered this enough to leave his confused expression for a moment and actually lift his eyebrows.

"Thank you" he replied formally "would you mind leading us there straight away? I'd like to make contact with my father as soon as possible."

Dante allowed the stoicism to drop once more, as a painstakingly beautiful smile exposed whiter than white teeth.

"Contact him? But Sir Leonheart, Master Loire awaits you in the cockpit."

-

_So I'm bringing Laguna in on the action and adding a little man candy into the mix, sue me? :P_

_Please R&R, and let me know - should Dante stay single, End up with Aeon, or End up with Quistis?? I'll make my decision based on your replies….XD_


	27. Ragnorak Mark II Maybe

**Ragnorak Mark II.**

Zell held Squall's hand tightly as the taller man hesitated at the door tot he passenger lounge. He knew what was on his mind; on the other side of this door was the only connection Squall had to a life before Garden, a life before mercenaries, war, weapons, battles, the only connection to the mother he looked so much like.

Since the Celebratory Ball they had only met once, at a conference on how best to recover from the minor effects felt in the present of Time Compression, a conference held in Centra (neutral ground for all the world leaders) which had, in attendence, the new President of Galbadia, the reviled Chakra Deling, Laguna, Kiros and Ward, Squall and Rinoa, Martine, the Council fo the Dollet Dukedom, the leaders of the Shumi Tribe and the Faculty of Trabia Garden, alongside Odine and a few scientists who professed to have worked on the Deep Sea Research Facility. Zell and the others had only stayed for the beginning of the meeting, giving their own individual accounts of the fight with Ultimecia. They had left soon after, but not before each noted the uncomfortable awkwardness Squall carried himself with, and his blatant avoiding of the Estharian Representatives.

He squeezed slightly, his own mouth becoming dry under the tension of the moment - here would be the first time Squall and Laguna would be forced to intereact with one another. Laguna had made advances, but thus far, each had been rebuked, and it was only out of the necessity of this situation that Squall had called Laguna in this instance, something he had only done twice before when having to dispatch large groups of Moon Monsters rampaging on the Esthar continent - and even then, only after much coaxing and rowing with Quistis.

"You were always going to have to get this over with, Squall" Zell said plainly, to no reply "And it might be good to form some sort of relationship with him, it might..."

"I have no intention of starting a relationship with a man who abandoned me for 18 years." Squall cut him off, steel in his eyes "I just never imagined I would have to talk to him now, when all this magic and sorcery stuff is going on..."

"I know." The simple reply was accompanied by yet another squeeze. Selphie rested her hand on Squall's shoulder

"Squall, Laguna isn't a bad guy at all..."she said, having had a few more dealings with him than any of the others. It seemed the fondness instilled on her during those first trips to the Dream World lingered still. "...you might feel better for talking to him."

Squall was motionless, and Zell doubted he even breathed. Another squeeze of the hand, still no response.

He took the initiatve. His heart ached with feeling for Squall's predicament but still he had to get to Edea, and this was a hold up he hadn't considered. He pulled Squall into a tight embrace, nestling his head in the crook of his neck, light kisses brushing the skin. Squall smelled sweet, but not overpowering, and tasted sweeter.

"We'll stay with Laguna for a few minutes, get the introductions out the way then we can go to one of the cabin's til we get to Edea's..." Zell reasoned, speaking into Squall's throat. He felt the taller man nod, still wordlessly, and smiled slightly. Pulling away, he stared deep into honey eyes. "...I'll be there the whole time."

A lingering gaze, and then Squall melted out of his frozen state. He moved towards the door, slowly, staggeringly at first, but taking more prominent strides as they began to part for the group. They stepped out of the light in the hallway, and into the darker Passenger Lounge, light only by the stars above the massive windows on the far side.

A deep breath later, the doors slid shut behind them.

-

It was awkward, to say the least. Selphie shuffled on her feet as she held back a few paces while Squall and Laguna exchanged awkward formalities. She zoned out, offering father and son some modicum of privacy. She noted that Kiros and Ward stood on the far side of the room, looking out of the windows. Kiros pointed occassionally ro constellations, and she could see Ward form moving with every pained grunt he made in response, but she was acutely aware that, like her, they were merely avoiding the performance in the middle of the room, played out under tenuous circumstances by uncomfortable performers.

Laguna's leg had obviously cramped by the way he hobbled first to Squall, then to Zell, shaking their hands in turn. She had given then enough space so as not to eavesdrop, but she could imagine the conversation was far from rivetting. She noticed Zell squeeze Squall's hand occassionally, and Squall uncomfortably shifted from leaning on one hip to the other while Laguna offered small, pained smiles.

Her heart bled for them both. The Ragnorak Mark II began to rise from it's nest in the middle of the Dollet Mountains, and Selphie took that as a cue to look away, and made her way over to Kiros and Ward, leaving the family reunion to it's own devices.

"The air in here is heavier than it ever was in Adel's tomb." Kiros stated blandly as she reached his side. She laughed silently, mroe out of awkwardness than anything and patted both men on the shoulder, taking a place between them.

"And in Ultimecia's Castle." she offered. "What are you looking at?" She asked, eager to change the subject.

Kiros' eyes lit up. She had read in Laguna's Timber Maniac clippings that Kiros was an avid astrologist and found herself fascinated by the cosmos ever after. She had tried to work out the constellations in the sky, to no avail. The perfect premise for the subject change.

"Well...." the slender black man began, violet eyes shining under dark brows "...you see that cluster of stars to the north?" He pointed in the direction he intended her to look, towards a small collection of bright lights towards which the airship seemed to be headed. She nodded, making out a vague distinction between their brightness and the relative dullness of the stars surrounding it. "That, my dear, is the warrior constellation, which Legends speak of as Hyne's own birthsign. Men born when that sign flares brightest are said to grow in strength and nobility far easier than those born of other stars, and it just so happens that it chose to shine on the month of our President's birth."

Selphie nodded, mildly intriuged."What's my sign then?"

"Your birthday?"

"May."

"Ah!" He turned to the east, looked for a moment then pointed towards a larger spread of stars that seemed to stretch from the horizon to the top of the sky. "You were born under the Magus, the sign Hyne created after blessing the land with His Grace. Those born under that sign affiliate with magic and the land protectors, or GFs, more easily than others, and are usually of a more peaceable nature than most. They hold an iron will in the face of even the most steadfast advesaries, and in the past it is rumoured all Sorceresses belonged to that sign."

"Rinoa's birthday was in May as well..."

"There may have been some truth, but in truth it is impossible to say if there is any correlation. Adel was born under the faery" he pointed to the north west "the kindest, most benevolent of signs, and look how that turned out, though if she was under the influence of someone like Ultimecia..." he lost himself in his thoughts for a moment before shaking himself free. "Tell me, do you know when Squall's birth date is?"

She thought for a moment. "October, I'm sure."

Kiros' eyes widened. "Interesting..." he walked around the glass window a way, to where the window began to face southwards. "..Over there..." Selphie followed his hand when she had caught up to him, and made out a web of stars that revolved around a star brighter than all others in the southern sky. "..Squall belongs to the star of the Orphan, remoured to be the star Hyne's own daughter, the first sorceress, created. It is said that after her father left the land she followed him into the cosmos, taking up residence on the star after eons of fruitless searching for her father. Children of the Orphan are often more conflicted and affected by pain than most, which in our case..." Kiros glanced towards the centre of the room, where the uncomfortable performance had all but played out, an awkward silence obviously gnawing at the participants. Selphie knew what he was thinking - Squall to a tee.

"What about Zell?" she asked, before getting to depressed over the matter of Squall's personality. "February."

"Ah, that's easy." He pointed south-east, to a line of stars that stretched as far as she could make out. "That is the Wit'ch sign, birthed by Hyne's mother according to Centran legend. Children under that sign hold a silent intelligence, opposed to the Sage" he pointed north slightly "which signifies a sparkling genius. The Wit'ch indicates a sensitive and tortured soul, giving birth to the most revered poets and writers on Gaea, allegedly. The Sage births a steely countenance to shield the prodigies it spawns, while the Wit'ch born are of fiery and passionate disposition, ruled oft-times by their heart as opposed to their heads. Sorceresses born under this sign were often the most loved by the early Centrans, protecting their people fearlessly." Selphie nodded, it certainly sounded like Zell. " I should think that our Mr Dincht is definitely a Wit'ch born."

Selphie smiled sadly.

_More than you know, Kiros_, she thought.

"Well, it looks like our Orphan and our Wit'ch have tolerated enough of our Warrior's conversation for now. Perhaps you should rescue them?"

They looked over. Ward had moved to Laguna's side, currently shaking Zell's hand silently. His eyes shone with a desire to speak more than ever, and with the sadness that such desire brought to him.

"I think your right, Kiros."

He nodded. "I shall show you to your rooms, I think our President will need a shoulder to cry on after you leave, and feel that Ward's is just the one for him. Come."

-

Kiros showed them to the sleeping quarters, making small talk and artfully avoiding the subject of Laguna. Squall had always liked the man, him having made mroe sense than most of the World Leaders at that dreaful conference he had sat through with Rinoa.

"And here we are!" Kiros proclaimed, coming to a stop outside three doors. "The guest chambers, feel free to use whichever room you want. I'll get Dante to announce when he we're almost at Edea's house so you know when to get prepared."

He began to walk away, but turned when Squall spoke for the first time.

"Thank you, Kiros"

He seemed taken aback by this momentarilly, before turning back to the tall brunette.

"I wonder..." he began, a hand going to his neck in contemplation "...might I have word alone Squall, before you retire?"

Squall hesitated. Selphie had already walked into the room she had chosen, a small wave following the closing door. Zell merely squeezed his hand again, something Squall had come to rely on in times of indecision.

"Squall?"

He looked down tot he shorter blond.

"Go on in, I'll not be a moment."

It was Zell's turn to hesitate. He searched in the brunette's eyes for a moment before nodding, relinquishing his hand for the first time since leaving the Dollet train.

Silence in the hall until the click of Zell's door ominously sounded.

"I fear you misunderstand my friend, Squall" Kiros began after a moment "..I fear you hold him in some contempt. Am I correct?"

A sigh. "I wouldn't call it contempt...it's just...weird for me to suddenly have some sort of blood relative...it's....it's different, is all."

Kiros nodded, stepping forward to place his hand on each of Squall's shoulders.

"I know it must be hard for you. But I promise, many have the nights been when Laguna has mourned the loss of his wife, and of his son. Many are the times myself and Ward have ran a country while it's President wallows in shadows and self-loathing. He did _not_ leave you willingly, Squall, he only discovered Raine had given birth after Esthar had been sealed from the rest of the world. He did _not_ intend to abandon you, Squall, please remember this."

Another sigh. "Look, Kiros...I appreciate you trying to help but..."

"I mean not to interfere, Squall." He withdrew his hands and made back towards the Passenger Lounge. "I merely hope you don't punish him more than he has himself, or punish _your_self for that matter. Think on it Squall, a wonderful opportunity has been offered do not turn your back on your father, as your mother surely wouldn't want..."

He rounded a corner, out of sight, his words carrying along the corrider, hitting Squall like a wall of guilt and shame.

He didn't know whether to thank Kiros or hate him. He had never considered Laguna or Raine, only thinking of his own losses. But as surely as he had lost his parents, they had lost their son. Maybe in forging some semblence of a relationship with Laguna he could come to discover more about himself and Raine, while also easing Laguna's pain? Maybe...

Heart heavy with questions, Squall went to the door Zell had gone through after a moment of quiet confusion and contemplation. He would not burden his love with his ponderings just now, he would put this to the back of his mind. Not now, he resolved, the time wasn't right. But maybe after all this mess had been sorted with the magic and Ultimecia...

...Just maybe.

-

_Trying to work through this part fo the story, if this chapter is utter rubbish I have about six other versions I could replace it with, so PLEASE R&R :)_


	28. The Girl Clothed in Violet

**The Girl Clothed in Violet**

_The coiling blackness writhed around his slick, sweating form, and he noticed he was naked when an oily tentacle brush across the most tender aras of his body. It snaked down his leg, circling his thigh, knee, calf and foot, until looking down he could no longer make out any of the limb. Fear drove him on._

_No direction, no landmarks, no views at all, only blackness, as though he were swimming in the nether bowels of the world, where he could find no one and no one could find him._

_He struggled on, pushing, swimming, struggling, sinking, for what seemed like eons, all the while waiting for the white light to appear, a signal that soon his dream would end and he could return to reality. He felt another tentacle of the gloom work it's way around his torso, climbing upwards until his enitre midriff was covered, until all he could see were his arms. He couldn't stand it anymore._

_He felt the ice cold tears streaking down his face, could feel the trails that paved their way down his cheeks, his eyes stinging and raw. He closed them, not wanting to watch as he was consumed by the substance, happier to wait for the End to come and claim him, happier to die eyes closed to the darkness than open to it._

_Serenity flooded through him with the closing of his eye lids. The panic that had grasped his heart so forcefully up until now abated, giving way to an intense calm he disbelieved at first, until he felt the gloom draw away from him slightly, felt the chilling touch recede towards nothing. It's presence remained palpable, and he had the sense that with the opening of his eyes he would once again fall under attack._

_And so he simply stayed, no fear, no panic, no constriction or chill, simple nothingness. And it was comforting._

_He noticed that with his eyes closed, he was not completely in the dark, rather, his minds eyes flashed purples and blues across his vision. His mind played out a light show, fireworks, streamers, ribbons, all in the same hues, each and every streak of light coalescing in one place in a brilliant burst of violet. He focused on the spark, and with his attention it flared brighter, as though it had been vying for him to notice all along. More intently, he stared, closed eyed, and more intently, it shone, beginning to expand and grow and surge. It became so large that the purple and blue streaks of light that had so abundantly danced across his closed-eye vision flitted into nothingness as the spark became an ember, a fire, an inferno, a font of violet energy spanning his entire field of vision, blindingly._

_He opened his eyes when he felt his eyes begin to burn, not with the cold from before but from the searing heat that the light emanated, only to find that the oily blackness had gone, that the violet blaze did not vanish. He realised that he could no longer feel the oily blackness just inches from his body, could no longer feel the freezing breath that had encased him so before..._

_And then he realised that he could see his body once more, that somehow, he had become real in his minds eye. He was clothed in a toga made of the same blinding violet as his surroundings, it hung from on shoulder, keeping one nipple visible, and he could feel that it only covered the lower half of its buttocks while it dangled just at his knees. He suddenly felt like royalty. The material clung to his body loosely, a transparent gauze with a purple sheen, so thin that his perfectly toned body was perfectly shown through the fabric, that every tattoo, scar and muscle visible through the sheet of light._

_He looked around, trying to discern what was around him as the burn in his eyes dissipated. The light still blinded, but it brought no pain, once more the serenity flooded through him, the calm swept over him, covering his being. He floated for an infinite time, no worries, no pain, only this numbing calmness. He thought he could hear a gentle breeze, the kind he used to her in Balamb when he snuck out at night to fight the Grats on the beach. He smiled, which paned him slightly after slow long contorting his face into symphonies of pain, angst and fear._

_Until she appeared - a girl, clothed in the same violet as his toga, a hooded cape which hid her face, thin, pale legs that jutted out beneath while pale, thin hands grasped a staff of silver, streaked with shots of dull purple. She walked slowly in the purple haze that had driven the oily blackness only to the corners of his vision. He could still feel it's presence, a predator seeking some chance to strike it's prey - but he was filled with confidence that it would not find such a weakness now, and so he focused intently on the form before him._

_He reached his hand out towards her, his brow crinkling in confusion. Words came to him._

_"Tomb.....King.....Sorceress......"_

_Just as he went to use his own voice, the scene faded to nothing once more._

"Zell!"

He half-opened his eyes, sleepily, lazily. Sun streamed through the wide window that spanned the entirity of the opposite wall, and to his left his vision was filled with his idea of sheer beauty.

Squall, his eyes shining with concern, sat hunched up on his right elbow, his left hand lying atop Zell's bare midriff. His hair hung limp atop his chiseled features and dark, honey eyes, while his pectorals and abs were exposed as he leaned on his elbow, the thin white satin sheets draped over his groin and legs. Zell gasped at the beauty he was greeted with.

"Another dream?"

It took the blond a moment to realise what he was being asked. He stared in blank confusion for a moment before rubbing his eyes to rid the cobwebs of sleep from his eyes. His voice croacked as he spoke, pushing himself up to rest again the leather headboard.

"Um...yeah..." he cleared his throat and blinked a couple of eyes, the last dregs of sleep diminishing "...but this...this one was different..."

Squall sat up, his chest and abs brushing against Zell's side, sending goosebumps shooting over his skin in all directions. His lips were agonisingly close to him, his eyes piercing so completely into his, his scent overpowering his senses so fully...it was all he could do to stay where he was, rather than explore the deepest parts of his and Squall's relationship, ground they thus far hadn't tread...ground that was so tantalising right now...

"Different?"

Squall voice shattered the moment. It was it's husky, sensual, normal tone but it panged with concern of such gravity that it pierced Zell's fantasy. Even the affliction he woke with every morning abated upon hearing it. Now was not the time.

"Yeah...I wasn't alone this time, there was a...a girl...I think..."

Squall's brow furrowed and he quietened for a moment while Zell drew his legs up to try and hide his dying hardness. He began to think back to his dream, to the frail looking girl that had whispered only three words to him.

"Tomb....King...Sorceress..."

"What's that baby?"

Zell looked round when Squall asked. He realised he must have thought aloud.

"Oh..that's just what the girl said to me. I think....I hope Edea will know what to make of it all...."

Squall wrapped his impressive arms around the smaller blond, who curled into his love's body, embracing the warmth, scent, proximity.

"She will, Zell. I know she will."

The sat in silence, holding one another for some time. The clouds whizzed by the window as the Ragnorak flew towards Centra, the morning sun climbing high over the crimson dragon. Zell was overwhelmed by the beauty of the moment.

A single tear of joy streaked down his cheek as he closed his eyes, absorbing everything he could of the moment.

_"Squall! Zell! We' re flying over Odin's Observatory, we'll be at Edea's in ten minutes...."_

Kiros' voice interupted: and Zell's eyes snapped open.

"We better get ready."

He nodded and Squall started to pull back, only to be dragged onto the bed, so he lay on top of the blond.

"Just a minute longer..."

Squall smiled and let his body melt atop his. Zell smiled too - Squall had the same morning problem he had.

_R&R? Slow chapter, but it should speed up a bit from here :)_


	29. Edea's Boys

**Edea's Boys.**

Edea rung her hands as her boys walked off the airship. She had walked about a mile along the beach from her house when she saw the Ragnorak II descend from the skies, her kinght, Cid, following a step behind. She didn't speak, her heart was thundering furiously, and so loudly that she barely heard the roar of the dying engine before her.

Her boys were here, after so long.

She saw that Selphie hung back a little, chatting animatedly with Laguna who was followed by Kiros and Ward. Quite the party she had to entertain. She looked round only when she heard Zone and Watts running to catch up with them, her new boys. They had been so depressed since they'd returned from Timber, but they were smiling for the first time with the thought of having people around.

Looking back around, her eyes widened slightly to see that Squall and Zell were clasping hands. She noticed then how they had coy smiles as they spoke with one another, and the gleam in both their eyes became more noticable as they got closer. She felt her eyes watering and her lips turning upwards.

Her boys.

"Matron!" Zell exclaimed, his face lighting up (even more than it had been talking to Squall) and he broke away from the scarred brunette to scoop Edea into a warm hug. She hugged tightly back and she felt her kiss his forehead as he lifted her off the ground. "It's great to see you!"

"You too, Zell...And Squall!" She let go of the blond and embraced the taller teen, who she was happy to see smiling for once. "It's good to see you too..."

"You too, Matron."

She hugged him for a little longer than necessary, pouring everything she had wanted to tell him when Rinoa died, everything she wanted to do, into this one hug, before finally pulling away, running her fingers toyingly through his hair and turning to Selphie.

They spent ten minutes on the beach, hugging, shaking hands, get reacquainted with old friends and introduced to new. Zell was surprised to see the house in the distance was not in the state of disepair it had been last time he visited – the stone building was once again whited than white, the path down to the beach was free from any rubbled and the lighthouse was no longer decrepit and neglected.

"It looks like home.." he whispered happily as they made their way up the small cliff to the house, Edea's arm looped around his.

"It is your home, Zell, whenever you need it" she whispered back.

Edea cooked a delicious lunch for them all, any meat you can name and any vegetable you can stand, along with a wide range of drinks, from coke to vodka, lemonade to cosmopolitans. They all ate and drank and talked and laughed, and Zell comfortably enjoyed the afternoon, though he and Selphie had been careful to place themselves between Squall and Laguna so as to advoid upsetting either of them. They still needed a lot of work, and everyone could tell they were thankful for the small distance.

The sun had begun to set and Zell was helping Edea clear up when the conversation turned to the reason he was here.

"So what exactly is the problem Zell? You were very vague when you spoke it about it before. Are you okay?"

Zell's face darkened slightly and he mumbled a bit before giving a coherent answer.

"It's...it's not something I really know how to explain..."

"Is it you and Squall?" Edea chipped in, her face fixing into a sly grin when she saw Zell's mouth and eyes widen and his cheeks redden.

"N...N-no! Well, yes, there is that, but that's not the reason we're here...but how did you-?"

"Zell dear, I don't need my powers to tell what's going through both your minds. I might not have given birth to you but you're the closest things to sons I've got, aside from Irvine, and I know you as well as any mother ever could." She stood smiling for a moment while she saw Zell busy himself bashfully with the dishes before calmly putting her hand on his arm and whispering "And I'm delighted, you're obviously both very happy."

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw his eyes water and his mouth split into a wide smile. She put her arms around him, her boy. She was genuinely happy, both for him and Squall and to see them both again.

"Thanks...matron." They stood like that for a few moments before Zell got to the real reason we were here. "But like I said, that's not what I came to talk to you about."

"Well what is it then?" She said cheerfully.

"It's...about these dreams I've been having..."

"Oh dreams. Dreams?" She looked perplexed for a moment. "What kind of dreams?"

"Dreams like...magical type dreams..."

The smile faded from her face, and her eyes steeled slightly.

"Oh...those dreams..."

They all gathered along the beach once the sun had gone down, and while Zell and Edea had locked themselves away in her room, everyone else had thoroughly enjoyed their day and was looking forward to an equally enjoyable evening. The stars were twinkling, the waves were gliding slowly to hit the rocks on the shore, and the gulls overhead were beginning to disperse, off to their nests and their young for the night. Squall felt a twinge of apprehension cloud his good mood, but it wasn't enough to stop him having fun. Maybe it was being back at the orphanage. Maybe it was being with Selphie and the others. Maybe it was because he and Laguna had actually been getting on reasonably well. Maybe.

He reasoned with himself that it was no good worrying about Zell just now. He was with Edea, the best person to be with, and until Zell understood what was going on, there was no way Squall could hope to help. And so he laughed, and joked, and drank, and ate. But always, in the back of his mind, he was listening for the back door to the Orphanage closing behind the young blond and his Matron.

He knew Selphie was thinking along the same lines. Every time there was the slightest noise from the house behind, her head whipped round with a nervous, apprehensive gleam to her eyes, only to find a window closing, the wind banging doors closed, or some figment of her imagination. She brushed these occasions off with finesse and drew no attention to herself, but Squall had been watching her. He'd come to look round at the same times as she had.

But overall, they were enjoying themselves. Squall only wished that Irvine and Quistis could have been here, that Rinoa...

Thankfully, he didn't have to long to think this last thought before he was called back into the present.

"Squall?" It was Edea. He looked back at the house with apprehension, and everyone around him quietened to hear what Edea wanted to say. Selphie grasped Squall's hand, sharing his nerves. "Selphie? Can you both come inside for a moment?"

They shared a nervous glance, before Selphie squeezed just a little harder on his hand. They made their way back up to the house without a glance back behind them. They heard the others strike up conversation again as they closed the door behind them.

The change in atmosphere inside was polar opposite to that outside. The air inside was thick, heavy, there was no joy in the air, no happiness, as if all that had been there earlier had been sucked out. Edea had dark circles round her eyes and she had visibly been crying, and while she hadn't said anything yet Squall and Selphie both knew there was bad news on the horizon.

"Zell's through here..." she said quietly. Squall walked through the door to the master bedroom, and while Selphie tried to follow, Squall heard teh door close directly behind him. _Edea must be giving us a moment _he thought to himself.

Matron's bedroom hadn't much changed, even since the renovations. Obviously, it wasn't falling apart like it had been, but it still retained the same features - simple dark wood floor, unpainted, undecorated white marble walls, the bed made of a darker wood than the floor, with covers of satin and silk and cashmere, in a cascade of purples and blacks.

One thing that was diffrent though, was the figure which lay under all the sheets.

Zells head lay on one of the massive pillos, a small pink ball in a sea of darker hues. His blond tuft of hair barely stood out against the audacious colours it competed against, but his tribal tattoo seemed to flair out, deeper and more prominent than ever before. His blue eyes, a colour that Squall could swim in forever, were twinged at the corners with pinks and reds; Zell had been crying, lots. His skin was blotchy and red, and there were tear streaks cutting right down his cheeks and his jaw. Squall's heart raced.

"Zell...? Wh-What's...?" Was all he coul mutter as he sat beside the blond, one hand wiping away the tears while the other encompassed his form under the sheets in a loose but meaningful hug.

"It's me, Squall, it's all me..." more tears fell as Zell began to ramble, as though talking to Squall was the greatets release he had ever had "...I'm a sorcerer, Matron told me I'm a sorcerer! And it's my fault that Ifrit, and Pandaemonium, and Cerberus all went crazy like they did, and it's my fault that Rinoa...that Rinoa died..." with the last statement Zell tried to hide his face under the covers, tried to pull away from Squall, but the brunette held his ground, and after a moment's struggling, Zell gve up and sank back into the same position he'd been in before.

"Zell? What do you mean? How is Rinoa your fault...?" And though Squall sounded compassionate, and though he wanted nothing more than to stop Zell crying and to assure him everything was alright...he prayed to Hyne that it wasn't true.

"M-Matron can explain...better...but..."another bout of sobbing "...b-but I'm sorry Squall! I never knew, honestly, this is all new...and I...I-I lo-love yo..."

"Squall?"

Both boys looked around as Edea's voice pierced their ears. Selphie stood to her side, that nervous look still on her face. She took one look at Zell and Squall could see the tears welling up in her eyes. He admired though, how she didn't let any tears fall. Instead, she held them back, and walked to the opposite side of the bed from Squall. She sat procariously on the edge of the bed, and her hand found Zell's, which had been working it's way through the folds and folds of bedding towards her.

Edea motioned for Squall to join her outside.

"I'll be right back..." he whispered into Zell's ear, his lips brushing the soft skin where the jaw meets the neck. Zell whimpered slightly, but Selphie took over Squall's hugging and Zell nodded silently.

Squall smiled uneasily before standing and heading towards his old Matron.

The smoke from her cigarette was filling the small study tehy had retreated to. A small, slitted window was not enough to let it escape, and it, mingled with the heat form the roaring fire in teh grate that had been lit, made the room stuffy, and teh atmosphere heavy. Or maybe that was just Squall's imagination.

He couldn't remember Edea smoking. no matter how hard he tried, he could never pinpoint an exact memory of her drawing on the long, opera length quellazaire. He could tell she needed it though. her eyes, though no longer watery, and without all the redness that had been there before, still looked a little sunken, a little subdued. as though a little life had been sucked from them.

"My Boys..." she whispered it slowly. They had left Zell and Selphie over half an hour ago, but still Squall had not gotten any explanation from her. He had poured himself a scotch, which he despised but which he thought must be good in these situations, judging from all the old Galbadian films he watched as a teenager. He sipped, and gagged, and pulled a funny face, before Edea continued. "I never used to smoke in front of you as children, Squall." she said, matter-of-factly, but Squall sensed she merely wished to avoid more delicate subject matter for the moment. "I only ever smoked at night, on the beach, with an invisability spell shrouding me. I never wanted to expose you to this. Just as Cid never wanted to expose any of you to drink..." she nodded to the glass in Squall's hand "...but I suppose, your a grown man now. And what you've already been exposed to, what you've alreayd overcome, is far more dangerous than a cigarette or a little drink." she chuckled, but there was no mirth. it was sadness. "All that I tried to protect you from. All that I tried to do, as well as any mother, and I've failed you. miserably."

"Matron..."Squall began, his hand reaching over to hold hers as she launched her head into the palm of the one holding the quellazaire. "...you never failed. We're okay! We're all okay! Please Matron..."he took a handkerchief from the box on her desk "...don't cry..."

Edea looked round at him for a moment, a single tear streaming down her right cheek. What a fine boy she'd raised.

She took the tissue and wiped up her eyes, stubbd out the cigarette and hid the quellazaire out of sight, in a drawer in her desk. She then composed herself and stared directly into Squall's eyes. He sensed that she was about to get deadly serious, so the scotch got left on the mantlepiece.

"But Squall...I tried, and I tried to protect you, form perhaps more than i should but I don't consider that a bad thing. But there was one thing, one thing above all else I wanted none of my children to have a part in." She sighed "Magic. Magic and Sorcerery...I formed SeeD as a way to combat and protect from it, not to be ensnared by it..." Another sigh, this one more protracted. "...But, alas, it was in vain. You sit before me Squall, and inherited sorceress. Rinoa's heir. My heir. And that perhaps, is irony in action." Another mirthless laugh."But Squall, that pain, and believe me, I feel it, deep in my heart and my soul, I feel pain for what has become of you, for while you have received a phenomenal gift, you now have a burden of responsibility that I wish I had never shirked to you, or Rinoa for that matter. You have an obligation to rule your powers, not vice versa, and while you may feel they are weak within you just now, rest assured, they will grow, like a raging tempest within you, they will grow. I give you the advice that I gave Rinoa, the only advice I know of to help you with this burden. Take for yourself a knight, a person whom you trust, lvoe enough, enough to keep you grounded and sane."

Squall snorted. "I don't need a knight, Matron, I AM a Knight for Hyne's - "

"Pride and Arrogance are dangerous tools for a sorcerer to weild, Squall." Edea's cutting remark silenced Squall immediately. He looked over at her from where he now stood at the fire. He thought silently for a moment. "Remember Ultimecia. Remember Adel. You are not what they are Squall, do not letyourself become them. Do not instil yet another generation with fear of the Sorceress. Or...Sorcerer..."

"Well...I suppose..." Squall swallowed. _Relying on someone again. THAT's irony_, he though. "It'd have to be Zell. As much as anyone, as much as Selphie and the others are really liek brothers and sisters to me...it's have to be him..."

Edea was silent for a moment. She smiled, her heart swelling as she realised just now in love her Boys were, even if they hadn't yet. But then a melancholy filled her, and from the pit of her stomach she got a sense of foreboding.

"But...Squall. There might be a problem there..." the brunette sat down again, a look of confusion crossing his magnificent features. Yet another sigh. "There is something...something big, on it's way, Squall..." she took a moment to compose herself. What she was about to tell Squall would not be easy to hear.

"I know, Rinoa told me..." It was Edea's time to be silenced.

"R...Rinoa...?" Squall merely nodded.

"She comes to me sometimes. Let's me know she's okay. Help's me out a little..."

Edea's jaw dropped. "You...You get messages from Rinoa...?"

Squall shrugged. "Sometimes. Not a lot, and not for very long. Everytime she comes to me there's certain things we're not allowed to say or do, but whenever she does come she always helps me out, cheers me up...kinda like she did when she was still here..."

"That's why you got over her so quickly!" Edea clicked her fingers, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Yeah, I guess...why, do you know something..?"

"I don't know anything! Nothing at all! Only some sorceress lore which I had though of as silly superstition before now..." She smiled, and laughed again, but this time with happiness edging it's way in as she stood up from her seat and began to pace around the small study "..oh don't get me wrong, it's dangerous, and it will test your abilities to the limit...but this is Huge! Much bigger than I though before..." She was getting quite animated, excited, bordering extatic, when she seemed to just remember "...Oh...But Zell..." She returned to her seat "I almost forgot how tough this is on him..."

"Matron!" Squall chipped in, after trying to get a word in for the past few minutes "What exactly is happening to us?"

She stared across the desk at him. Her Boy. Her Protegé. She had always known there was something special about Squall, ever since he and Ellone had turned up at this very orphanage, drenched form head to toe. It had been a miracle that they'd reached her. Both very special children.

"Squall...you know you're a sorcerer, right?" Squall nodded, apprehensively "Well, there has been a legend, dating back Hyne knows however long, that every generation of Sorceress is stronger than the last. This is why Ultimecia was such a big threat, because her power had been inheriting strength for generations into the future. What the power is said to culminate in, is a fragment of Hyne's purest power, a tiny sliver of his own soul, made manifest on Gaia. And I think that that sliver may just have manifested itself in you."

Squall was dumbstruck. "What?" Was all he could manage.

"Bear with me...your powers were received from Rinoa, whose were received form me. Now, the condition that sorceress powers increase on succession is that they pass to a more powerful human than before...do you follow?"

"So...the powers get stronger...but only if the host of the pwoer is stronger..as well?"

"Yes, exactly! Now, I first inherited my powers when I was five years old. I remember the woman who passed them to me to be incredibly old, and I seem to remember that people didn't think me much of a threat when i was younger because she had been so genteel, her powers were extremely limited. i've since come to understand that she merely elected not to employ the majority of her powers but I am confident that I was a more powerful sorceress than she was. Now, my powers were powerful in their own right, I mean, I kpet Ultimecia from finding Ellone for more than two years with strength of thought alone! So, we can assume there was a natural progression of powers here."

"Right..." Squall had his arms folded, wondering where Edea could be going with this.

"Well, Rinoa was even more powerful than me. I heard her describe the way her powers manifested themselves and it was phenomenal, nothing at all I could ever do compared even in the slightest. The way she could cast spell after spell, without using up any of her magic reserves, and they way she described instinctively knowing what spells would be most effective in which situation...amazing! But what is most impressive Squall, is your manifestation. Now, I've no doubt that you could also go into 'berserker' mode with your powers. in fact, I'm sure your spells could make Rinoa's look insignificant. And from what Selphie told me earlier about your fight with ifrit, the way your telapathy destroyed him...another increase in powers, although, as Ive stated that's what is to be expected. What is truly compelling, Squall, is that you have communicated with someone who has passed beyond. Is there anything specific about your encounters with Rinoa that stick in your mind...?"

Squall thought for a moment. "Not really...I mean, I know that everytime she comes to me, I'm in a forest or a jungle. And there's always a strange smells in the air, like...patchuli, or sandalwood...but...nothing else really...well, there was one time she showed me a battle, where we all got beaten...but it was only a possibility of what could happen, it wasn't a proper...'premonition' as you would call it..."

"Amazing..." Edea whispered. She snapped herself out of a reverie "Well, the forest or the jungle...it sounds to me like your subconscious is creating a place where Rinoa will be more comfortable - she fought for Timber, right? Forest capital of the world? And those scents...I don't know if you remember, but sandalwood incence was a particular favourite of mine when you were younger...the whole house reeked of sandalwood! And I also wore pathcouli perfume that Cid would give me every birthday!"

"I don't remember that..." Squall said, smiling.

"Yes...so I think your subconcious sounds acutely more aware of your powers than your conscious mind does. Which is the exact same case with Zell..."

"Zell? Zell's a sorcerer too...?"

"In a minute Squall, Iill get to Zell in a moment! So, we can deduce that your powers are a culmination of many sorceress generations, first my elemental prowess, then Rinoa's inexhaustible supply of magic and now your own communications with the souls of the past and glimpses of the future. Like I said, a sliver of Hyne's soul. There's no doubt that you will be a tremendous sorcerer, when your powers have fully developed into your own."

"But...but wait a minute, wait a minute..if what your saying is, sorcerer's, or sorceress's get stronger over time, why wasn't Ultimecia able to defeat us? She had hundreds of generations of a headstart!"

"Yes...that is a tricky one, although...i think Ultimecia's ego was her biggest downfall. From what I understand from your accounts of the battle, she changed tactic a few times, yes?"

"Well, yeah..." Squall agreed "First she tried to fight us just as we would any other opponent, but then she summoned a GF, Griever..."

"Which, I believe, is not a GF...it is a symbol of pride and power to you Squall, yes? A symbol she used to try to get you to submit out of fear!"

"Hmm...yeah...but she still didn't beat us with him so she junctioned herself to Griever...and then after that she revealed her true form..."

"And her true form was repugnant, yes? Hideously ugly, but powerful and gigantic...is this true?"

"Yeah! But by then it was like she'd stopped trying...she spoke to us while we faught but she spoke slowly and out of breath...she didn't seem all that powerful then!"

"Ah Squall! But you must remember, you had alreayd defeated her three times before she unleashed her true self. She must have been exhausted, both from the fight but also form the constant changing. And if she had started to cast the Time Compression spell, she must have been using phenomenal reserves of magic just for that! Sorry to say this Squall, but I guarantee that if she had fought you in her ultimate form any sooner, the outcome would have been different..."

Squall sat in silence. He had to give to Edea, it was feasable.

"So, we can see that both you, and Ultimecia, have gained vast power over the course of many sorceress now..." she sighed, another frown crossing her features "...Zell. he did not receive his powers through inheritance..."

"What? Then...he was born a..a...?"

"Yes Squall. Zell is the culmination of a bloodline of sorceresses. He is the direct descendent of Hyne...he is a pure sorcerer."

_R&R Please?_

_Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but now that I've got the plot sped up I'll be able to get right into it form now on. Thank you so much for sticking with me and please Review!_


	30. The Legend of Centra

From Tragedy Born

And Wedlock Bred,

From Swords Proven

And Shields Upheld,

From Battles Many

And Peace So Few,

Reared As Bastards,

There Will Come Two

When Crisis Reigns

And Time Is Wretched,

Hyne's Descendant

And Knight Selected,

From Dreams Of Seeds,

And Tales Of Sorrow,

A Light Shine's Upon The Morrow.

And He Who Bares

This Awful Task,

To Swipe Foul Darkness,

From The Land,

Joined By Few,

Of Truth And Valour,

There Will Be One,

His Knight In Armour.

When Finally

The Blades Are Sheathed,

The Battle Won,

And Peace Decreed,

There Shall Be Two

Among The Crowd

Sorcerers Both,

Their Two Hearts Proud.

-Excerpt The_ Legends of Centra_,

Unearthed Anonymously year 3002.


	31. Bloodline

**Bloodline.**

Edea read the words of the Cetran Legend from a dusty tome she had taken from one of her many bookshelves. Squall's face was puzzled as he tried to take all the information in, while Edea gave him a moment to take it in. She placed the book reverently on her desk, between herself and Squall, before she sat back down, facing him.

"Do you understand what it means, Squall?" She asked him politely, not wanting to offend his intellect but wanting to make sure he comprehended its meaning. This was not to be taken lightly.

"Th-That book..Where did you...?" Squall stammered.

"Find it?" Edea finished for him. "Well, it's quite an odd story. Right around the time I started getting contacted by Ultimecia I found this book buried under one of the walls outside. I believe Ultimecia went back further in time and had one of the Centrans bury it here, in hopes of me finding it when I did. It contains the Time Compression spell and also a few excerpts on the specific genus of magic that seems to have passed down to Ellone. I believe, primarily, those are the parts of the book she hoped I'd focused on, but when I was warring with her in my mind, fighting for control and thwarting her every time I could, I always remembered this particular passage..."

"But...but how can you be sure...?" He began again.

"It's authentic?" She finished again. "Well, you might be surprised to know, the Cid is fluent in classical Centran. He translated most of the book for me, in next to no time. I think given the fact that it had been buried and that it was written in Centran, when so few speak it these days, is proof enough. Although, this is interesting..."

She turned the book on its side, so that its spine was facing Squall. His eyes widened for a moment, and then he leaned in for closer inspection, gently rubbing a few dust particles away. He studied the intricate design, tried to find something dissimilar, something that wasn't an exact match...

"Yes Squall. It's the same design Zell's had imprinted on his temple since even before he arrived here, a mere babe in a bundle of blankets." Edea confirmed his suspicion. "There is a lengthy text in this book that describes how a particular family had been given a sort of 'royal' status on Gaia by Hyne before he departed the world. When he left for another plane, and behind him feel a few trickles of magic that infected the future sorceresses, he also willingly left a part of himself."

"A part...?" Squall asked, not entirely sure he wanted the answer.

"The book states that Hyne had a consort on Gaia, who had served him faithfully and had birthed many healthy, human sons. As a rewards for this, he impregnated her a final time, and on that final time he allowed a pure strand of his Godhood pass into his seed. The book calls it 'the birth of the bloodline'. It is stated in the book that those descended from their union have this design..." she tapped this spine of the book "...imprinted magically on their bodies whilst still in the womb. I often wondered where I had seen Zell's markings before, but passed it off as a common tattoo in the big cities or some such. It was only earlier, when Zell started describing to me what had been bothering him, that I looked into the book again. There is no doubt in my mind; Zell is of the bloodline. Direct descendent of Hyne, he is capable of wielding a power that could obliterate Gaia and everything on it. He is descended from a God."

Squall had to laugh. It was nerves, more than anything, that made him laugh, but all sounded so ridiculous. Zell? Who barely passed any written exam he ever sat.?Zell? Who had the social skills of a child? Zell? Who he loved so dearly and who wanted to protect more than anything in the world? He was a _God?_ "He's a GOD?" Was all Squall could snatch out of his voice to say.

"No! That is not what I said Squall. He is _descended _from a God. He will live and die like any of us, he can bleed and cry, and hate and _love..._but he has power such as a sorceress has never dreamed of having." She stood, crossed to Squall and put her arms around his shoulders. "He is Zell. And he is just the same as always. What matters is that he gets through this and doesn't let the power consume him."

"Wait...Wait a minute...If he was born like this, why is it only now that he's nearly nineteen that the powers are showing themselves?" Squall spoke through the shock. He wasn't going to register the answer at the moment, but he had to keep talking, to learn to understand.

"Well...funny you should mention that..."Edea went back to her seat, and too the book, and looked through it for a few seconds. "..here it is...read this..."

She passed the book, open, to Squall. The writing in the middle of the pages was in a language he couldn't hope to understand, and the pages were worn and battered to the point he was afraid they would crumble to dust in his hands. The letters of the writing made no sense, looking nothing like any he'd seen before, but fortunately, as Edea had said, Cid had wrote a translation on the opposite page, which was, fortunately, blank.

'_And so the Great Hyne did leave, as a gift to his people, the most divine humour of his Divine Person – his Godly Seed. He told his consort, Khavatinyra, of his gift, and spoke only thus;_

"_Though many children you have borne before,_

_And many great things they have done and shall do,_

_The child you bare next shall have the greatest burden, _

_But the greatest gift._

_Know only that it shall seem benign, beneath acknowledgement,_

_But it's brand shall burn like a flame in the darkest hour,_

_And to him, you will owe your world."_

_And with his last deed on Gaia done, the Great Creator left his Creation forever, ne'er to return lest he be pained more on the behaviours of his most precious subjects._

_And the land slipped into a Godless Age.'_

"From what I can understand, I think that Hyne created the bloodline only as a kind of 'plan B', that he left a manifestation of his Divinity only if Gaia ever needed it. There is a section later on in the book that states that the shaman's of the early Cetran prophesised that a child of no heritage and with no heritage to give would bring the divinity to fruition, so that it could only be used once in history, before disappearing forever. From that point of view, it makes sense that he would...well...be more interested in you than say, Selphie, or Quistis..."

Squall understood perfectly. With Zell being gay, he wouldn't pass on his genes, and therefor his 'divinity', to any children, and as he's an orphan, he has no 'heritage' or parents and ancestors to speak of. He definitely fit the description in the book...

"What is this book called?" he asked, morbidly curious more than anything. He would be going to bed soon.

"_Khavatin _is how it is pronounced in Centran, according to Cid. It means 'the beginning' or 'origins'. You'll recall that Hyne's consorts name was..._ Khavatinyra_...which, Cid explained to me, is derived from Khavatin. Her name literally means, 'Bringer of the Beginning' or 'Birth of the Origin'. It is all too conclusive to be written off as mere myth."

Squall retired shortly after the revelation. Edea assured him that he could stay at the orphanage as long as needed, and that he and Zell would have access to the book whenever they needed it. She pointed out a few particular chapters to Squall that she felt had helped her develop her powers, many years ago, but he had completely zoned out by that time. He found himself standing outside the door beyond which Zell lay, waiting, and found himself unable to tell Zell what Edea had told him. He had forgotten to ask if she'd told Zell.

"Squall?"

A feeble voice called from the other side of the door. He couldn't resist. It was a siren call, one simple, spoken word that pulled Squall in.

How could he not be with Zell?

He walked through the door, and one look at the blond cemented Squall's resolve. He sat upright in bed, his torso bare to the slight breeze coming in from the open window while his lower half lay buried still under the legions of sheets. The symbol of perfection, lit dimly by the single flame of a waning candle, with eyes of the purest blue, though Squall noted how they had a glimmer of fear in them.

He calmly stripped down to his boxers and clambered under the bed sheets to be with his lover. He pulled him close and felt Zell melt into the embrace, and Squall was positive as he showered small kisses on the nape of his neck.

Zell would be his knight. And he would be Zell's.

They cuddled for what felt like an eternity, until finally the candle snuffed out. They took that as a sign to turn in for the night, and Squall found himself spooning Zell, holding him closer than he ever felt he could hold anything.

This was where he belonged. This was where he needed to be. This was all there was.

"I love you." He whispered.

He smiled into Zell's shoulder as he heard the words echoed back.

_Thoughts? I thought FFVIII was too sci-fi so I'm trying to bring the fantasy element into it, and this has been my plan for the two of them from the outset, though it's taken me a while to get here. Please, please let me know what you think of it so far, the plot should really hurry along from here!_


	32. A Time of Learning

**A Time of Learning**

The book yielded a mountain of secrets on Squall over the next few days. He had woken up the morning after his talk with Edea with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, a determination even he had not expected to come to terms with, and a desire to master, his newfound powers. He tried, subtly, to get Zell to read from the book as well, but the blond constantly locked himself away with Edea for hours on end in her study, from where he always went straight to bed. Squall had no idea what they were doing together, but it was certainly having a positive effect – Zell had stopped crying and his eyes had lost their glimmer of fear, which was replaced by a visible determination akin to Squall's own.

He was worrying less about Zell than he had been recently, and he found himself contemplating how nice it was for him to focus on his own problems. His own growing power, his own cryptic dreams, and sublime messages from the beyond…

He had looked up dreams in the book countless time, and every time he had discovered something different, something that hadn't been there before. It had been a desirable power to have, 'Dream Speak' they called it, and the Sorceress' who had Prophetic Dreams often worked as Healers or Shamans. From what he could tell, the subconscious mind was greatly under explored, even in Centran culture, but he learned that Dream Speak had been employed by Hyne a few times after his departure and that sorceress' who had died before their time and had some connection with the Planet still intact at the End contacted their successors through dreams to guide them and help them do what they couldn't. It also had a small passage on Ellone's particular Dream Abilities, but was mentioned only in passing.

Selphie had looked at the book a couple of times, and had looked into certain spells that she alone had been able to cast. Edea had explained to her that Selphie was simply more in tune with the planet than the average person, and that her gift with magic was more natural than spiritual. She seemed content with the explanation, but Squall had glanced at the book when she had been reading, and the Wall, Rapture, Full Cure and The End spells had always been the subject matter.

Squall tried some of the techniques that the book suggested for people new to the craft and was often found meditating on the sea shore or practicing his spell craft on the rocks by the lighthouse. He was impressed with what he was able to achieve – through meditating he managed to catch a glimpse of Quistis and Aeon, back in Deling City, shuffling Caraway into a car in one of his stupors, and during his practice sessions he had managed to cast the three main elements – fire, blizzard and thunder – without speaking them allowed, something he had always been amazed by Rinoa doing. But Squall didn't know that Zell was doing his own type of training with Edea, behind closed doors.

* * *

"Breathe deeply, Zell, clear your mind. Focus on the light, drive everything else from your head."

Edea spoke softly and slowly, the only other sound in the small study the crackling of a fire in the mantle, and the occasional spark of a lighter as Edea put her quellezaire to good use. Zell sat on a plush purple cushion on the middle of the floor, cross-legged with his eyes closed, focusing on the small purple light he could see when he concentrated hard enough during the 'meditating' sessions Edea had been putting him through. He didn't know why, but today she was focusing on him getting closer to the light.

"Just relax…"

_He was in the murky depths again, a blackness clinging to him like glue, holding him back. He was forcing himself forward, slowly and painstakingly, trying to shake off the darkness. He was no longer aware of the heat from the fire which had been blazing beside him a moment ago, and looking down he discovered that he was, once again, naked. He saw his legs take a stride forward then slide back in the gunk to almost the same place as before. It was taking what felt like an eternity, but he was determined. He would confront this, he would face it head on, and he would win. Another step. Another step. He made small progress, his feet constantly sliding backwards through the grime, his legs muscles beginning to ache. He looked up from the ground and into the light. A renewed determination spurred him on – he would win, he would do this. He would do it for Squall, who he loved so much, who wanted to be with, who he wanted more than any-_

He collided with the stone floor, and was overwhelmed by both the pain of the impact and the simultaneous smell, heat and sound of the crackling fire in the grate, crackling happily as if Zell had never been to that dark, dank place.

"What happened?" He asked, stunned, as Edea helped him to his feet and dusted down his trousers (as only a mother would).

"You were floating dear...well...Hovering would be a better word..." She trailed off as she looked him up and down, a small smile forming on her face. "Are you hurt?" She asked, earnestly.

"...Wha-? Oh, no. No, I'm fine. You said...floating?" Zell stammered, excitement racing across his body, sending shivers down his spine and bringing a slight grin to his face. Edea beamed at the question.

"I said hovering would describe it better. You got about half a meter off the ground before you fell again...but if you want to try again...?"

She asked this as she pointed back to where he had been seated before, in front of the cheery fire. Zell didn't have to think twice as the shiver raced down his spine again – he nodded and made his way back to the front of the fire.

"Right. Remember..." Edea began again, lighting another cigarette in her quellezaire and moving to sit at her desk, facing Zell "...clear your mind, and focus! Legs crossed, arms relaxed, eyes closed..."

Edea carried on, while Zell's head swam with images of him flying across the seas of Gaia.

* * *

Selphie walked along the beach, as she had done every day at lunch time since they arrived here. She looked out at the sun, high in the sky above the Centran Ocean, its light reflecting off both the waves and the occasional dolphin, surfing across the water – not a care in the world. She clambered over the rocks at the lighthouse and kept going, past the known territory that the Orphanage held dominion over. Further along the coast, cliffs towered high above the jagged rocks that the beach became, and insurmountable slab of sheer chalk, the whitest white blending perfectly with the pale yellow that the waves exuded in the sunlight. It was here, at the cliffs, she had found a small cave network on her first walk down, and after finally clearing it of its inhabiting jelleyes and lesser tonberries she was now ready to explore its tunnels and crevices.

The opening of the cave was tall and narrow, so much so that even Selphie had to walk in side first. Through this small gap in the pristine white was revealed a magnificent chamber, stalagmites rising and falling from the floor and the roof in the most majestic fashion, the white of the chalk which was visible outside merging into light greens and blues, the colour of rocks not yet excavated on Gaia, eventually ending in a wall of the lightest purple, about a five minute walk away from the entrance, on the other side of the chamber.

Selphie had the suspicion that she had been here before, but she was unsure. The damn GF made it so hard to conquer the feeling of déjà vu, but Selphie was too awed by her surroundings to let it vex her greatly. Directly across from the entrance, on the purple wall, another opening in the rock invitingly drew Selphie in. It was even narrower than the main opening, and Selphie had doubted she would make it through...but she needed have worried. The other side offered even greater visual rewards than the stalagmites could ever have.

"Wow" was all she could say, her small voice bouncing around the endless walls and far off ceiling.

* * *

Once again, he hit the floor. The bottom of his spine was beginning to ache, having borne the brunt of over ten failed attempts now. Edea had tried to emphasise to Zell the importance of clearing his mind completely and simple going with his instincts, but he was getting more and more easily distracted with every trial. He was beginning to feel like he didn't deserve this power, that someone else would be better off with it, like Quistis, or Squall...

"I know what you're thinking, Zell Dincht." Edea's voice interrupted his thoughts. "And you better snap out of it!"

Looking up, Zell noticed that she no longer held her quellezaire, but the ashtray on her desk was overflowing. How long had they been here, he wondered.

"But...I can't do it. It isn't happening, matron!" He felt tears rising, his hands balling into fists and his jaw tightening in an effort to keep the tears at bay. He had done enough crying, and now was his chance to build himself back up again - the others were expecting so much. Squall was expecting so much.

"Zell..." Edea moved to the young blond and grabbed him up in a tight embrace. Patting his back she encouraged him. "...You must have faith that these powers came to you because you were destined to have them. You have read from the book yourself, and you know that this power has been millennia in the making – if you were not to have them, the fates would not have been so careless as to gift them to you."

This did little to comfort Zell. Maybe the fates had made a mistake, or maybe Edea had! Maybe he wasn't Hyne's descendant, maybe he wasn't a sorcerer! His mind raced with excuses and conjectures that could get Zell out of this, but one look into Edea's eyes and he knew the truth.

"I know you too well, my boy." Edea cooed softly. "You wonder why these powers have come to you, and doubt whether they have at all." Zell nodded, and Edea's response was to smile softly and sadly, before making her way to the small window that looked out over the beach. "There was a time when I thought like that, Zell. A time when I forsook my powers and let them rot under the weight of my mundane, ordinary life. And it worked for a time!" Her head turned to Zell for a moment "Until she came, and took advantage of my fear and my modesty."

She looked back out the window so her boy would not see the tears that formed in her own eyes. "Ultimecia used my failings as an opening, and was able to wield through me a power that should never have been unleashed on this generation. If only I had kept a vigil over my powers – if only I had embraced them, and not stifled them, I would have been stronger, more able to fend her off. I could have kept my children safe..." She sniffed as a single tear cascaded down her cheek. She looked out into the waves as she felt Zell move closer. "...I was a slave to her will for almost two years, Zell, and had to war with her constantly for almost five years before that. In the time it took for me to be released, my children had forgotten me, my husband forsaken me, and my beautiful home withered without me. My life was in tatters..." she looked round at Zell, who was only a step or two away, a look of concern drawn upon his handsome features. "...until I found my strength, in all of you. In my children. I found what I needed in life and I grew stronger – I lost one of the greatest powers this world has ever seen and yet I am stronger now as a woman than I ever was as a sorceress. And it is because I have accepted my path, and have come to terms with myself, Zell. I will not allow you to repeat my mistakes. You will be strong!" He voice raised itself slightly. "No child of mine will be a puppet to fate! None of my babies will be slaves – they will be masters!"

She choked on her tears now, turning back to the window and supporting herself on its sill while one hand covered her mouth in a vain attempt to staunch the sobs that came. She felt Zell's hand upon her shoulder, and she turned silently into a quiet embrace with her boy. Her Zell.

"Matron...I-I..." Zell stuttered, unsure of what to say. Edea sobs subsided quickly, and she was soon standing on her own, wiping her tears away.

"You have the strength Zell. You have all the things I did not – courage, strength of will and more!" She glanced back out the window before stepping to the side. "Look out the window, Zell." He stepped forward apprehensively, his eyes locked on Edea to begin with but eventually tearing themselves to look at the beach below.

The sand stretched out beneath the window, sparse spurts of grass climbing out of the grains on its way to meet the rocks at the shore and the foam of the sea beyond. The rocks were taller and wider a half way along the beach, cutting a swathe into the sea before crumbling off, just beyond the lighthouse, and that's where Zell saw it.

A beautiful sight.

Squall sat on a rock, facing towards the sea but side profile to Zell, his legs crossed and eyes closed in a pose not too dissimilar to Zell's own attempts at meditating. His white shirt billowed in the sea and his hair floated, almost royally, around his head.

A beautiful sight.

"Look deeper, Zell."

The young blond was confused by this at first, and decided to simply stay focused on Squall. It was only after a few more seconds of a longing stare that Zell noticed.

Squall was glowing.

A light purple emanated from his form, and this was quickly accompanied by a small burst of flame, which then froze and was then shattered by a small bolt of purple lightening which came from Squall himself.

"He's mastering his powers, Zell, or at least beginning too. With a knight so strong, how can you fail?"

Edea's small hand clasped Zell's shoulder as he realised that she was right. With Squall by his side, he couldn't fail. He wouldn't allow himself too. He looked out on his lover a few seconds more, before determination set itself once more, and Zell steeled himself.

"This time I'll do it."

* * *

It was cold, certainly, but Squall was able to shrug it off. The breeze was easy on his face, and the heat from the sun above kept it from getting unbearably cold. He had been sat on the rock, training, for about an hour or so now, and was surprised by the progress he had made. The Khavatin was draped over a rock to Squall's left (which he had raised from the others with an extremely localised Quake spell he was particularly proud of) and the scarred teen found himself looking at its pages less often than he had a few days before. He had spell casting without speaking down to a tee, at least with the basic elements, and he managed to get another glimpse of life in Deling.

It looked like things were still quiet for the others; Aeon and Irvine were drinking at one of the seedier bars, a few stools from Caraway, while Quistis yawned into the back of her hand listening to one of the General's stories. He had called them shortly after that particular vision, and had been promptly reassured that everything was fine. The reassurances were accompanied by copious well wishes for Zell and statements of how Caraway was driving them crazy. But at least they were doing fine, and that was a weight from Squall's mind. He knew they'd have to go back to the others soon, but he wasn't quite ready to leave here. There was something about being cut off from the rest of the world that Squall found comforting.

With a flick of his wrist (and a silently compressed Tornado spell) he closed the Khavatin and had it meet his outstretched arm before slinging his gunblade over his shoulder and making back towards the Orphanage. His boots scraped against the stone, making a satisfying sound and Squall allowed himself a few moments to unwind – no worries about Zell, no practicing magic, no checking in back home. A faint smile graced his handsome features and he closed his eyes for a second as he reached the sandy shore, breathing deeply, if only to lock this moment in his mind.

The smell of the sea met his senses, the sound of the gulls and the waves, the calm in his heart. Nothing could ruin this.

He opened his eyes again, his legs spurring themselves back into motion, only for his nose to be met with the out-of-place smell of sandalwood, just for a second. He looked around, searching for a source, but the smell left as soon as it had come, and after a moment of telling himself he'd imagined it, he made his way back up towards the house.

* * *

She through the stitch, her hand clutching her side as she tried to run through the pain; the house was in sight, but the sand seemed only to hinder her progress, her feet finding no real purchase and so sending her a few steps closer to the water with every stride. Her breathing was heavy in ragged, for she had not stopped since she had got out of the cave, eager to share what she had discovered with the others.

"_Must tell Zell, Must tell Squall, Must tell Zell, Must tell Squall, Must pee, Must tell Zell, Must tell Squall..."_

She was still a little distance away when she picked up the scent of sandalwood on the wind, only for a second, but her side was burning so much, her eyes watering and her bladder at the point of bursting, and she paid it no heed as she began to ascend the stone steps that were carved into the small cliff Edea's Orphanage rested on.

* * *

_He didn't struggle, he didn't resist. He let the dark tide carry him for a moment as he got his bearings and collected his thoughts. The light was dead ahead, a small ember in the darkest of nights, but still visible, still obtainable. He breathed easy as the murky depths swirled around his naked form, rubbing his most intimate areas frostily and mercilessly, trying to distract, to annoy. He simply breathed, deep and long._

_He decided that he wouldn't fight with the Darkness; it hadn't helped him thus far. He tried simply to focus on the light, hoping that the solution would come to him. He stood in the Darkness, the sound of dripping coming to him from far away, the light up ahead burning itself into his eyelids so he saw it even as he closed his eyes. It was aware of so much more than he was when he struggled with the murk, and was acutely aware of a presence that was with him, a sentient being that was hiding, and somehow he instinctively knew that he would not be able to contact it._

_He thought of what he could do, what could possibly get him to the light? He knew he had to do it, he had an all-consuming desire to reach the light, but he couldn't remember why. But that wasn't important, not right now._

_The idea suddenly came t him of making the light come to him instead. It seemed so obvious – it looked like it could skim right across the top of the waters with ease, and be with him in no time at all. He stared at the light, and somehow knew what to do._

_He stretched his right arm outwards, towards the faint light ahead, and with the other made a rotating motion above his head, as though he were preparing to through a lasso. Three full rotations and his hand came to rest, perpendicular to the other. His body settled, one leg stretching forward to mimic the outstretched leg, the other, foot pointed sideways and positioned back from his body, and he counted silently in his head._

"3, 2, 1..."

_His torso tensed as he felt he was being pulled by something, as though he was being sucked forward, but he had sure footing, and refused to be pulled, his will keeping him grounded on the spot. With his outstretched hand he made a pulling motion, as though pulling a tensed rope, and his arm muscles burned with exertion after only one pull, but a look forward told him it was working. The light was gathering speed towards him, as though it had been ripped from its moorings and was rolling free and unencumbered. It headed straight for him, and once he was confident that it would not settle again, he quickly stood straight and with his arms by his side to the elbow, from where they both pointed in the light's direction, palm forwards._

_He readied for the impact as the heat emanating from the light began to hit him, and a thunderous roaring sound began to fill his ears as the light kicked the Darkness up behind it and to the sides. It was close, really close. The smell of sandalwood filled his nose, powerful and overwhelming, and he knew without knowing that this was what he had been waiting for._

"3, 2, 1..."

_He tensed once more, and he felt the light collide with his palms. It cooled him, completely, and he was instantly aware that he was no longer naked, and that feet somewhere below him a heat was reaching the soles of his feet. _

Zell opened his eyes. He was greeted by the top of a bookshelf, a thick layer of dust draped over it. Looking around, more bookcases, and it was only when he looked down he realised what had happened.

He was high in the air, his hair grazing the ceiling of the study, a height of at least ten metres in the air. He had done it. He was floating. He smiled, but then a feeling of unease knotted itself in his stomach; how would he get down?

"Zell!" Edea cried, delight evident in her voice "I knew you could do it! Well done!" He heard her clapping, but the knot tightened itself, and he began to feel horridly like he was going to throw up. His arms flailed in mid air and his legs wobbled but he wasn't moving from where he was – it was that same bookshelf, the same dust that met his gaze. "Zell! Calm down!"

Her words had no meaning. He felt he was stuck here, in the confines of Edea's study for eternity, and with the thought it began harder to resist his gag reflex. One hand covered his mouth, he didn't know which, as he fought to hold it in, and his vision began to blur.

"Zell! Listen to me!" It wasn't Edea, which Zell barely registered. "Listen to my voice, Zell. Concentrate on it. Try not to panic. Can you say my name?"

Zell know who it was, he knew exactly who it was, but he couldn't speak, he was too busy having an internal war with his stomach. He tried to use his voice, but every time he moved his hand away from his mouth his stomach lurched upwards and he resumed the position hastily.

"Zell, it's me! Say my name, listen to my voice! You're going to be okay! Listen to me!"

He began to concentrate more on the voice as it continued to speak, and he started to find that his stomach was calming, if only slightly, as he listened. Again the request came, _'Can you say my name?' _but this time, he could say his name! He knew he could, and he smiled slightly with that knowledge.

"Squall!" he whispered, only to find the knot loosening more. "Squall!" He repeated, louder this time.

"That's good Zell, really good, now, think about coming down to me, and imagine yourself standing beside me, here..." Zell did so, and he felt himself descend slightly "...imagine me catching you as you come down..." he fell again, slightly more. He heard Edea whisper _'let him reach the floor himself..._' but it barely registered as Squall continued. "...imagine me holding your hand down here, hugging you...kissing you!"

Zell smiled at the thought and his eyes remained closed, as he felt the heat very slowly get stronger. He knew he was doing it, and he knew he was going to see Squall. His heart skipped a beat as his feet bumped gently to the stone floor, and he opened his eyes to be greeted by two beaming pairs of eyes – Squall's and Edea's.

He fell forward into the scarred teens slightly outstretched arms. He kissed the nape of his neck lightly as he hugged him, amid the congratulations from both his lover and his matron.

"Thanks..." he said through a smile, his face burying into the older man's shoulder. _'I love you... '_ he whispered so only Squall could hear, and his heart soared as he heard the reply, soared so high he thought he might take off again.

He could do this, with a Knight like Squall, who couldn't?

_Well, what do you think? Not entirely sure about this chapter but I need to make sure that Zell and Squall can't just be adept sorcerer's straight away – I know it's going quite slow but I've got a great idea for the next few chapters, I promise __ R&R as always!_


	33. Gaia

**Gaia.**

They walked quickly along the sandy banks that rolled out from the Centran Cliffs which lined the Centra coast, the lighthouse to their backs. It was getting later in the day, and the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, which cast a pale yellow glow over the cliffs, reflecting the light onto the sand and the surf, bathing the land in a yellow glow that was both beautiful and ominous. Squall gazed around him at the cliffs, wondering what Selphie could possibly have found to warrant a near-dusk excursion for him, Zell and Edea. Zone and Watts had promised to remain at the house and keep an out for them coming back to begin serving up the veritable banquet that Edea had prepared for dinner.

He thought back to what had been said when Selphie burst into Edea's study, Zell coated in sweat in his arms, Edea moving to blow out the incense and candles she had lit to sooth her blond haired protégé.

"_Selphie, dear, whatever is the matter?" Edea asked, eyeing the young teen holding her side from a stitch, flushed and panting. "Are you hurt? Did monsters attack you?"_

"_No...Matron..." The girl had panted out. "But you all...need to come with me...now..."_

_She took off out of the room, not a backward glance as she jogged towards the back door, clutching her side and breathing deeply._

"_Selphie!" their Matron had called, but the sound of the door slamming shut behind her was all that greeted the three sorcerers'. _

And so they had set off after her. Edea and Squall half ran, half pampered Zell as he got his breath back for the first few minutes, before the blond insisted he was well enough to carry his own weight – Squall reluctantly set him on the sand, but quickly grasped his hand to ensure he stayed close. Edea had merely nodded and sprinted off ahead, to Selphie, a small figure a few dunes in the distance. Squall had squeezed Zell's hand lightly before sprinting himself, pulling the boy with him until he found his feet and kept pace beside him.

It hadn't taken long to catch up with Selphie, being that she doubled over clutching her side before long, and took a few moments to recover before they set off again, together this time. The odd Jelleye from the nearby plains managed to creep into sight, but before any real battle was initiated Squall had cast all three elements on them and Zell had waved them into the cliff wall with a move of his hand – a talent Edea had taught him before moving onto levitating, explaining it was half of the spell that used to make her ice spears.

"Think of this as practice, children!" Edea encouraged, and moved Selphie closer to the water to let the boys deal with any monsters on the beech – she and Selphie dealt with the few Water Fasticalchon's that decided to leap out of the water. When the sun had began to set, they slowed their pace at the insistence of Edea who lectured 'Natures beauties abound but are rarely acknowledged – don't scorn nature, children, it is a much bigger force than any of us'.

As Squall was contemplating their impromptu and, thus far, unexplained journey across the Centran beech, he almost didn't notice the small cove that Selphie crept into – it was barely visible with the light reflecting from the cliffs, but as soon as Selphie had begun to step in, they followed, single file, with Selphie leading and Squall bringing up the rear, still clutching Zell's hand. They walked side's forward, the entrance being so narrow they wouldn't have fit in otherwise – and before long, Squall was bending his neck to let his head move under the stalactites that fell from the unknowable roof. His keen eyes still spotted the gradual change in colour of the stone around them; from the white of the chalk to aqua's, turquoises, the odd flash of silver and finally culminating in a light purple hue that darkened as the crevasse began to open up into a cave.

The stood, three behind Selphie, who strode purposefully to the end of the 'room' they found themselves in – oval in shape, with the walls of the crevasse they had just traversed widening out to form the walls of this medium sized orb in the Cliffside, then moving to meet one another again, before each side swallowed the other, a large vein of silver streaking up the dead centre of their joining, with something laying at its root.

"Squall, Matron...I don't know why...But I feel like I know this place..." was all Selphie said "I only found it while I was out walking today, but as soon as I stood in this room I know I'd been here before." She had positioned herself directly in front of the silver vein, facing the group, so whatever lay at the base of the streaking silver beauty was obscured slightly. "I recognised the walls and the floor..." she motioned to the crisscrossing purples and blues and green that cut through the white/grey marble beneath them "...and the stalactites..." she pointed up to the multicoloured cone that fell towards the floor, a little way above Squall's head "...and this..." she moved to the side and pointed to the base of the silver vein "...I think it's a GF I used to summon..."

Edea moved forward after a moment's pause, scanning her surroundings. She had been silent in the room, even her footsteps less audible than the scuffs and scrapes of her companions' – though Squall could've swore he'd heard the word 'Amazing' escape her lips once or twice since entering the crevasse.

"Selphie...I..." she seemed to be struggling for words as she neared what lay on the floor – Squall saw now that they were boulders, all the different colours that were found along the walls of this place, but they were moving – they swirled around one another lazily, bouncing up and down silently, some even growing and diminishing in size. "I know what this is!" She turned to her children, Selphie now standing beside Squall and Zell as they walked forward slowly, tentatively, transfixed on the rocks before them. "Children, this may be the Portal of Gaia!"

The three shared confused glances, but the term was not completely unheard of by Squall. The 'Portal of Gaia' had been a legend in the days of the old Centran Empire, and lived on, albeit barely, in the libraries of Dollet and Garden that Squall had found himself reading through since the Time Compression crisis. It described the mythical 'hole' in the world that lead to the Goddess of Creation, a sort of feminine aspect to couple with Hyne's masculinity – it was argued that Gaia was the embodiment that Hyne left on Gaea before he departed, others that she was a separate entity who wanted to sustain creation rather than abandon it after Humanity's ascension to prominence. All the theorists and papers on Gaia were ancient, yellowed, crumbling tomes, and from the little that Squall could read, he gathered that Gaia was not adverse to communing with humans, but did so rarely, so little in fact that humanity began to forget her, and so the ancient portal that she had used to interact with the physical world from her throne in the magical had faded from time and memory, rumoured to exist at the earth's core, in the furthest star, the ocean floor. If Edea was correct, they had found the Portal less than a mile from the beaches of Cetra. But surely she was mistaken.

"Matron...come on, that's an old wives tale!" He exclaimed after a moment. "This...whatever it is...could be some...some fragment of real magick lingering away from civilisation...or...or...some natural phenomenon that our science hasn't discovered yet!"

Edea calmly nodded as Zell moved a little closer to the boulders, crouching slightly so her was eye level with the rock that floated highest off the ground – the height of his waist at most. "I know, Squall, but there is something about this...this place!" She motioned with her hands to encompass the cave around them "I just...I feel like I know this place too..."

Selphie and the Matron exchanged looks – of hope or excitement or Hyne knows what, Squall couldn't figure out, but he was getting more and more curious by the second. Zell was reaching his hand out as though to touch one of the boulders, when a voice rang through his head.

'_Stop Him!'_

Before he had even realised, he was lunging forward to pull the blond back, but not before his finger had skimmed across the surface of one of the blue boulders. His finger had come into contact with the object for less than a second, but as soon as Squall had yanked him away on impulse, the rocks had started moving much more erratically.

Squall had pulled Zell away with more force than he felt he could justify, but had no time to contemplate the voice in his head or his actions before the sound of thunder burst into the cave. The rocks were moving much more quickly, in what looked like defensive stances, all equidistant to the base of the silver vein and circling in mid air as though to ward off any who came near. The thunder seemed to linger in the room for a few seconds before Squall heard the voice once more.

'_Summon Me'_

He noticed that Zell seemed to register something as well, as his eyes widened and his hands balled into fists – Edea and Selphie had gathered closer to them, forming a loose circle, into the centre of which Squall found himself focusing all his thought onto one thing. Beside him, Zell seemed to be doing the same, and before any of them knew, a burst of green light hurtled them all backwards.

A few seconds later and Squall was lying on the cold floor, Zell somewhere on his left, Selphie on his right with Edea. He motioned for them to stay down while he got to his feet, moving his gaze to where they had been standing, some ten feet away.

Shiva exactly where Squall had been looking when he had heard the voice in his head again – above her majestic flowing hair Quezacotl floated, his wings almost touching both walls even as they huddled as though to guard Shiva. Squall worried they were going to have to fight these magical creatures just as they had Ifrit and the others, though from the corner of his eye he noticed that the boulders had stopped moving completely – they hovered about a foot off the floor, the base of the silver vein sending out a wisp of purple light to all of them, joining them in a semi circle which from above would have vaguely resembled a setting purple sun. He somehow knew then that a battle was not in the making, though he did not drop his guard – his hand stayed on the Lionheart at his side, and his stance stayed protective. He felt his companions cluster on either side of him, a step or so behind, thankfully ignoring his earlier command to stay down.

"The blade won't be necessary Squall. We are not to do battle this day." The most beautiful sing-song voice he had ever heard intruded in his thoughts. He guessed the other had heard it too as he felt then quicken and start behind him. "I am creation incarnate, the art of war is not my forte."

Squall looked at Shiva, thinking it was she who spoke, though when he saw that her eyes were closed and a slight smile parted her lips as frost began to pool at her feet and spread towards the floating boulders, she seemed in a trance like state to his eyes. He flicked them up to Quezacotl above her, finding him equally still, his wings fixed in place as the generated thin streak of lightening that culminated at his beak which pointed at a particularly low falling stalactite, which then seemed to generate the energy into the other rock formations in the room. In the time that it took for Squall to look form the boulders, to Shiva, to Quezacotl, the entire roof was crackling with lighting as the floor emanated the glow of pure white frost.

"What in Hyne..." Selphie began, as Zell grabbed Squall's hand, though she never finished the sentence. Their attention was drawn to the purple light in which the floating boulders had been lost to the eye.

It had begun to travel up the silver vein, up to about the height of Shiva or Squall, and also thicken, growing wider and wider until it was about the width of a female with Selphie's stature. It seemed to flow and ebb and weave around itself, creating curves and bumps that light should have – it seemed to drip into the floor and not return, as though some invisible lantern had cut a hole through the floor and shone its magical flowing light up the wall. What captivated everyone's attention, though, was how the light seemed to harden as it flowed.

The light on the floor seemed to part until two distinct orbs separated themselves, revealing to floor to still be intact between them, where light had poured just moments ago. Up from these orbs, two identical beams of the living light shot up until the joined one another again and grew –they had created what looked like legs, and as the climbed upwards, Squall began to see the curvaceous form of a woman's torso and chest, before the lights parted ways again to form arms. The figure sprouted a head from its body, the light now becoming solid so that it stopped reflecting off the walls and contained itself, taken on a purplish colour streaked with silver, the streaks giving the form the look of some exotic wood. The head that grew from the body poured out curls of purple light that formed hair, framing a face purple and streaked with silver like the rest of the body, but with on big difference – the silver streaks culminated in two cat like 'eyes' that shone bright as the sun in the head, which appeared to have no mouth or nose. It was beautiful, and terrifying, and mystical, and impossible.

"I am Gaia, mother of this planet and all who make home on her. And you all, I believe, need aid that only my kin can offer."

The four companions stood, eyes agog and jaws dropped as the light solidified completely – the floor became bereft of frost, similarly, the roof of lightning, and Shiva and Quezacotl faded to nothingness, retreating back into the recessed of Squall and Zell's minds.

"A God makes a powerful ally, you shall find"

_Hey readers! Thanks so much for bearing with this story over the past year, it's been really hard for me to update recently since finding the time to write is getting harder and harder, but I'm determined to finish this, and for all of you who want to read more – Thank you!_

_Please review, everyone I read makes me a little more determined to write when it appears in my inbox :P_


	34. Conversations with a divine

**Conversations with the divine.**

The floor, which just moments ago had been crisp with a light dusting of frost, had begun to sprout sprigs of grass, tendrils of ivy beginning to snakes themselves around the perimeter of the cove they were in; similarly, the walls were being engulfed by thick, ancient looking roots that took the strange purple color of the form before them. The climbed up the walls and were met a little above halfway by the rocks that hung from an invisible roof – they had pulled themselves from hanging down to grasp the wall and embrace the living wood that sought to hide all trace of the dark purple rock. Within moments, it was as though they had stumbled across a woodland clearing in the middle of the cliff side, complete with a breeze that made the grass bend back and forth.

The four of them stood, slack jawed, staring at the figure before them, Gaia, who even without a visible mouth seemed to smile benevolently at them, the silver streaks glowing and flowing though crevasses in the purple hard light that ebbed and radiated like a candle's flame. Zell was aware of Squall's hand in his, clutching tightly but not painfully, and he realised that he was grasping just as tightly to his lover. He knew Quezacotl had settled back in his brain, he had felt a familiar jolt in the back of his mind as the GF took up his place in his memories – and somehow he knew that Squall had felt the coolness that Shiva brought when she burrowed back into her resting place. It was just they four, mortals, humans, unworthy, in the presence of a goddess.

"I sense uncertainty, almost fear. I am curious; what do you fear?"

The voice came from Gaia, though nothing on her face betrayed movement of any kind – none of the silver lines moved to form a mouth, the purple head didn't move at all. It just stared, those cat like slits somehow obviously scanning the four of them intently. None of them answered. Zell was almost compelled to drop to his knees, to offer this figure the respect that she so obviously commanded; but he felt rooted to the spot, as if he was held in place by one of the gnarled and ancient roots that had made their home along and up the walls.

A beautiful sound filled the room, high and womanly, yet authoritative and kind – laughter. Here was a God, an ancient power embedded in the planet itself, laughing in front of him. He knew she was the Goddess, he knew instinctively that she was powerful and kind a just. She deserved reverence, and whilst the blond was not famed for observing social etiquette or being particularly respectful, he kept himself still, the feeling of anticipation filling him. He waiting, though for what he didn't know.

"I apologize. I haven't made an appearance before humans in quite sometime. Your kinds seems to have...abandoned me..."

She said this with a tinge of sadness in her voice. It wasn't prominent, the kindness and gentleness and authority were still there, but the sound of sadness in her voice nearly brought him to tears. He immediately felt ashamed, as though it were his fault that generations before him and left her alone in this rock.

"The world has changed much..." she continued, the sadness gone. "...and it seems that it needs a god again. The planet moans in anguish beneath me, I hear the rocks and the trees and ocean all crying for help. I hear the stars and the moon and the sun vying for my attention, for my aid. It seems I have abandoned my own duties for too long..."

"The world yet lives...it still fights and survives..." Zell heard Edea speak, her voice quiet, almost timid, and he didn't know exactly what she meant, but he felt the atmosphere in the room lift slightly as her words filled the emptiness.

"Yes. It does. But it does not flourish..." She didn't sound so sad, but Zell detected something that sounded like determination, resolve in that heavenly voice. After a moment she added. "...The wind tells me how much you fight for this world. This world that I helped birth and nurture like my own child...I thank you."

He bowed his head, unworthy of such praise from a god. He continued to wait.

"You gather before me, children of my child, unsure of where you are going and what path to tread. I sense the trouble inside you all, the gifts and burdens you carry, the battles and struggles you have endured. I feel the weight of your deeds upon you, and I sense the war you wage you. And I sense how the earth roots for you, how it quickens as you fight for it. Truly, I thank you."

The figure bowed it's head slightly forward, very gently, very slowly and deliberately but it was noticed, by all four of them. Zell began to feel hopeful as she spoke to them, as though with every word she spoke, his angst and uncertainty over his new found power was chipped away at slightly, peeling away.

"Who woke me? Who brought life to these all stones, long forgotten, on both sides of the portal?"

Zell gulped. He felt Squall squeeze his hand, sensed Selphie turn her head towards him. He felt like a naughty school child before his headmaster, caught fighting in the playground or chewing gum at the back of class. He raised his hand shakily.

"I-It was me...me, miss...Gaia?" He didn't really kno how he should address her. Was it okay to use her name? Did gods have titles that they were address by. Lady? Ma'am? The laughter came forward again, at the same time a stronger breeze rushed into the cave for a few seconds, rustling the grass and the ivy and the few leaves that were swaying it it's presence.

"Gaia is fine, Zell. Zell of the Khava lineage." The form seemed to turn to face him slightly. None of her movements were particularly stressed, quick or prominent, but they were all noticeable; from the flowing of her silver veins to the glowing of her light to the gentle wave of her hair...if it even was hair; It melded perfectly to her body, her head. It was an extension of her beauty. "I sense your struggle most. The turmoil you endure. It is needless, a drain on your energies. The gift you are blessed with is your birthright, your destiny. It was your fate to break the seal on the divine power that has lain dormant for centuries, your fate to summon me. And you..." she turned slightly to her left, facing Squall now. "...you carry your power with determination and strength. I can think of no stronger soul to tame the power that has been wielded recklessly and fiercely since the dawn of time – you will accomplish great things in your life." Laughter again. " And little one, I remember you..." She turned to Selphie now. "...we met once before, the last time I visited my child. You had skinned knees and tear stained cheeks. Somehow I knew then we'd meet again...I am pleased I was correct. Your own strengths lies dormant, awaiting a true purpose, a proper outlet. Yours is overlooked and diminished by your enemies, yet I know the wrath you can bear when you deem it necessary...without your judgement, I doubt your own powers would be used so admirably...and finally..." It was Edea's turn now, and the matron seemed to shy away from the figure as it turned finally to her, as though she feared it would berate her, chastise her. She bowed her head down and away from gaia, a look of pain across her features. "...you ought not be ashamed of anything. All you have done has been done in love – you nurture these pure souls, you sacrifice everything to keep them safe. I feel that without you they would not have overcome so much to speak with me today. To you, I extend my humblest thanks, my eternal gratitude. You, most of all, may have pulled the world from the clutches of darkness."

Edea choked back tears. She smiled sadly as she took on board Gaia's words. Zell knew she had been waiting for this validation, for any recognition that her own private battles hadn't been in vain, that in the grand seem of things she mattered, she accomplished what she meant to. The figure, meanwell, turned back to her original position, facing them all. The light seemed to fade slightly, as though retreating.

"We have work to do. As I said, a god is a powerful ally. And I intend to help you. The mother of the earth must step up and protect her child, she must brave the storm and conquer it, ending the suffering that has seeped into this plane over the centuries. I ask that you accept my aid when it is offered, that you allow me to shield you, fight for you, and grant an old god the chance to redeem herself for eons of neglect."

No one spoke, but Zell wanted to break free from Squall's grasp and swear fealty to her, he wanted to assure her that they would defeat any and all enemies of the life of the planet, of her creation. He wanted to protect her as much as he felt she wanted to protect him. But still, he could speak. Awestruck. Dumb.

"Know you do not battle alone. The planet is on your side, and you will prevail. We have much work to do. I suggest we begin."

The roots began to recede, the ivy to worm its way back to Gaia's feet, the grass to wither and disappear. The rocks began to shift slowly back to their original positions, and the form of Gaia to dissipate back to the flowing light it was before.

"I go with you know. I grant the power of a god, the knowledge of a thousand lifetimes, the wrath of a mother. I join your fight."

And in an instant, they crashed back into reality.

Green light burst forth from Gaia and hurtled them all backwards again. Zell felt his eyes close for a split second, and for his body to loosen up as though it had been petrified til that point. When he opened his brilliant blue eyes again, they were all back in the purple cave, surrounded by purple walls with streaks of silver. The stalactite once again struggled to make it to the floor, the orbs once again floated in their original position. She was gone, Gaia was gone.

But he knew they were not alone. Somewhere, somehow, in the back of his mind, he knew she was with him.

They struggled to right themselves, to pick themselves up from where they had been thrown, swaying slightly as they got to their feet, Squall rushing to Zell's side and making sure he was okay whilst Selphie did the same for Edea. And then he heard her voice, and he knew the other did as well.

_It is time to leave this place. The time for contemplation and mediation is over. We most fly. Now._

_Right, I know I'm a bad bad updater, I know this stories been going onf or far too long, but I'm determined to have it finished within the next couple of months, I've struggling with bad writers block since my last chapter but I feel like I'm on a roll now_ – _you wont need to wait so long again, I promise!_

_As always R&R, I love your comments and feedback/suggestions. Good chapter or no?_


	35. The Ultimate Truth

**The Ultimate Truth.**

The tingling in the back of his skull wasn't fading. It was electrifying, burning and cooling, his head felt light as a feather and heavy as a rock and he was dizzy but frightfully clearheaded all at once. His thoughts were clear, concise – all the pages of the Khavatin glowed in his minds eye, the strange runes and markings falling into place around his peripheral vision. He understood everything now, understood every etching and scrawl he had poured for hours over with Edea in her study. He couldn't comprehend it, but he knew what he could do and how to do it. He looked at his lover, his best friend, searching the dark pools that he had and could lose himself in so easily, searching for some sign that he wasn't the only one feeling like this. Squall was good at hiding things though, so he couldn't be entirely sure either way.

The throbbing was a familiar feeling, usually painless but prominent – Leviathan, Bahamut and Eden had all brought similar prominent throbs the first time he'd junctioned them, and Ifrit's junction had been almost agonizing for a few minutes as it was his first GF experience – but it had never lasted more than an hour. By the sixth hour his ears were ringing. By the twelfth, it was all he could focus on. Squalls dark eyes were there, his beautiful lips were moving, his hands were reaching out in concern, but Zell found he could not reply. It was as though he were trapped in his body, unable to interact with it or control it. He was a passenger, a visitor in his own mind, and this feeling, ecstasy and agony mingled into one, was replacing him. He was scared, he wanted to reach out a clutch Squall's hand, tell him he loved him, tell him anything, but his body wouldn't cooperate. He could feel the pages from the Khavatin cramming their secrets into his mind, like tiny spiders crawling just underneath his scalp – coupled with the tingling, it was overwhelming, intense, exhausting.

He wanted to sleep but he couldn't even do that. His eyes were heavy and dry but even blinking was strenuous in the extreme. He tried to let the feeling wash over him, to go with it and let the magick carry him where it would, like he had done with the blackness. He was realizing that fighting the shadow was easy compared to fighting the light. It was enveloping him, a white haze was starting to cloud his vision, tinged with purples and violets and lilacs, little starburst in the fabric of the world that he hadn't noticed before. The bright lights didn't scare him at all – he somehow knew that they were meant to be there, that they had always been there, and that he had just been oblivious to them before now. It struck him that magick was everywhere around them, not the paramagic that he and his comrades had used to fight Ultimecia, but the true magick that Odine had refined for general use decades ago. This was nature, it was an intrinsic part of life, and he was overcome with the beauty of it as he came to terms with it.

This was how he was _meant_ to feel. This was _normal_. This was _life_ now.

"_The ultimate truth…."_

Gaia's voice echoed in his mind, so faint that it came to him almost as a whisper, but resonating within him like the chime of a crystal bell. Her voice soothed him, as a mother's voice soothes her babe.

"_You see around you the fabric of time, or space, of being. You see the true world, the magick of life, and with it you carry great responsibility, child. There are those who would use this power, those who would abuse it."_

He considered this, suddenly realizing for the first time the magnitude of his power. Had Rinoa struggled to comprehend this, had Edea? Had….Ultimecia?

Not for the first time he took solace in the eyes of his lover. And he smiled.

"Hi there."

The playfulness that came with those words made him want to dance. Ever since they'd put Zell into the med bay aboard the Ragnarok, Squall hadn't left his side. They were flying somewhere over the Estharian Ocean on their way back to Galbadia, half a day from their destination. They had contacted Quistis and the others when they'd cleared the Centran continent and let her know they were on their way; she never sounded so relieved. From the looks of things, she hadn't slept in days. It didn't take magic to know something was up.

But right now, all the Squall could focus on was Zell.

He'd started off complaining of a ringing in his ears. Then he'd had nosebleeds, dizziness nausea. Then he'd collapsed, only an hour into their flight. Since then he'd been here, eyes open, awake, but somewhere else. Every now and then Squall would notice his lovers breathing quicken, and a check of his pulse had let him now his blood was thundering through his veins. Gaia had offered a few words of reassurance, letting Squall know that this was normal for sorcerers. But why wasn't it happening to him?

A question for another day.

"Hi." Squall replied, awkwardly. He wanted to sing with elation, the happiness at Zell being awake and seemingly fine threatening to break through his hard exterior. But he kept it together. "You had me worried."

He said it dryly, detached, afraid to let Zell see any fragility. He was his knight after all, his pillar of strength.

"Don't be." Zell croaked. His through was dry, but his smile extended to his eyes. "I'm fine. You're here aren't you?"

He stuck his tongue out slightly, trying to be cute. Squall smiled in spite of himself. Zell really was okay.

"Zell…." Squall began. "…I…I don't know how to…"

"Don't say anything." He replied, putting a finger to the brunette's lips. He brought his other hand around to grasp Squall shoulder, pulling himself up from the bed. " Don't waste this."

Before he knew what was happening, Squall's mouth was locked with Zell's. He was being kissed with a ferocity, a desire that he;d rarely experienced before, if ever. And he found that he was reciprocating, match the strength and power of Zell's tongue and lips and wandering hands.

"I want you." Zell whispered.

It drove Squall over the edge. He jumped on the bed beside Zell, letting down his defenses to completely offer himself to Zell.

He was his knight, his friend, his lover - and for the first time, he surrendered to it.

"_LAND AHOYYYYYY!"_ Selphie's voice came over the speaker. _"We land in twenty minutes, everyone, get ready to disembark!"_

She sounded excited, more so than usual. Probably the thought of seeing Irvine after being away from him for so long.

"Where does she get the energy?" Zell muttered lazily, tracing circles on Squall's naked chest as he pressed himself into the brunette's side. They'd been lying like this for a while, just lying. They hadn't spoke, both silently agreeing not to break the spell of their afterglow.

"Beats me. Maybe I chould check her expenses for anything shady with known drug dealers back at the Garden…."

Zell sniggered. "Maybe…"

With a lot of effort, they peeled themselves away from each other, dressing in silence, occasionally glancing at each other and smiling. Squall felt silly, like some stupid teenage girl. But he couldn't help it.

They left the med bay hand in hand, making small talk that didn't really matter. They both knew they had a lot to talk about – where they were going, what their new powers would mean, how to tackle Seifer and Ultimecia, but for now, they'd just be Squall and Zell.

Until they reached the cockpit at least, where Selphie and Edea were waiting.

_Just a few chapters away from the end of the fic now – sorry I'm such a shitty updater guys, thanks for sticking with the fic! As always R&R, I promise I'll update soon!_


	36. Operation Deling

**Operation Deling.**

"It's Quistis" Edea started. "Something's happening in Deling."

Squall took a deep breath and allowed his hand to drop from Zell's gentle grip. Instinctively he crossed his arms, leaning against the cockpit door with his eyes closed and one foot pressed on the door behind him. It was Squall's brooding pose – it either meant to leave him alone, or that he was thinking. The other knew him well enough not to take this personally. Squall looking like he was ignoring them usually meant they had his undivided attention, it was when he stared right through you that you know his mind was on other matters.

"We got word from her just now, she's requested that we land north east of Deling City and wait for the boys to meet us there – apparently we shouldn't get within viewing distance of the city." Selphie explained. "Quistis is the only one still at Caraway's mansion; Irvine and Aeon have been out of the urban areas for a few days now."

"Out of the city?" Zell asked. "Why?"

Selphie and Edea exchanged a nervous glance. Well, Edea looked nervous. Selphie looked wired to the moon, tinged with panic.

"Hyne's craft has been circling the city for the last two weeks, making fly by's and occasionally dropping monsters onto the roof of the Arc de Triomphe. Nothing Quistis and the other's couldn't handle, but enough to incite a panic. General Caraway ordered an evacuation three days ago, and entry to the city is now forbidden." Edea sat in one of the co-pilot seats, head in hand. "The public have been relocated to Timber and Dollet whilst Quistis, Irvine, Aeon and Caraway's personal guard have remained in the city to fight off any monsters that are roaming around."

Squall smiled wryly. Seifer still had a knack for theatrics – he and Zell were his targets, so there was no point doing too much damage with them on the other side of the planet. But he still couldn't resist causing a stir – who cares if millions of people have to leave their homes? Seifer's gotta have his fun.

"So why doesn't she want us in the city helping?" Squall asked.

"The craft's been floating over the Arc constantly for the last twenty four hours, ever since the last main convey left the parameter of the City. Instead of pouring monsters into the streets, it spewing them into the air – we'd never get past all the circling Nova Dragon's and Garuda's. We're blocked off."

Zell began bouncing on the balls of his feet, fighting stance adopted. Now he was nervous, unsure of how to act but with too much energy building up inside to keep still. His mind whirred and reeled with this information, trying to think of a way to get to Quistis. He was sure she was fine; Quistis could handle anything, but even she would start to buckle under the pressure of fighting constantly without back up.

"So what's the plan? We can't just leave Quistis there."

"Well she's not sitting doing nothing." Edea answered. "She told us she was going to explore the sewers under Caraway's mansion to try and find a route out of the city. She's taken her phone but she won't be contactable till she's back above ground. Until we hear from her, one of us will need to stay in the Ragnorak at all times so when she calls we can answer."

"Poor Quistis..." Zell said, wrinkling his nose at the memory of their first foray into the sewers. At least she was moving though.

"So we have two objectives. One, clear the city of the monsters. Two, get rid of the airship." Edea stood, the assuming matron. She looked over the three SeeDs assembled before her and felt a swell of pride. "I'll remain at the airship. Two of the Estharian soldiers on detail of the Ragnorak will stay behind with me; you and the rest of the contingent will head for Deling." She looked towards Squall, whose face contorted between relief and confusion. "...If that's okay with our commander."

He pushed himself back from the door and assumed the SeeD salute. "Commander's below Matron, Matron."

Edea smiled. "Okay. You three get ready and be ready to leave as soon as we touch ground. I'm going to have the Ragnorak land halfway between Deling and the Tomb of the Unknown King –if Selphie can input the coordinates - and I want you guys to head directly for the City, straight line, and eyes forward. I'll organise the soldiers on board into teams of three and they'll follow after you team by team in fifteen minute intervals- the less attention we draw, they more complacent Seifer will be. Their primary objectives will be finding Quistis and defeating as many enemies as possible – yours will be reaching the airship and taking it out of the sky."

Squall nodded – he marvelled at her military mind. Sure, he'd seen her a vicious and ruthless dictator, but she'd always suited the soft spoken gentile manner she adopted most of the time. It was hard to remember that she had founded the largest mercenary force on the planet – even if it was after prompting from him. Or future him. Or past him. He wasn't really sure how time compression had worked.

They left Selphie with Edea whilst she input the landing coordinates into the ship's computer, headed back to their cabin to get their weapons and stock up on potions and ethers. He wasn't a hundred percent sure whether Zell would need ether's now – he practically pulsed magickal energy – but he would at least.

"Do you need to junction?" Squall asked, considering the pulsing aura for a moment. It was barely visible, like a heat wave emanating from him but with a faint purple tinge. He got the feeling that only he could see it, some benefit to his own magickal abilities, but he couldn't understand it. He caught the look in Zell's eye, the confused stare. "You are all powerful now, you know."

Zell rubbed his neck and pulled a face. He didn't know. He wasn't junctioned with anything at the moment so...

He flipped his wrist, imagining a shoot of pure water forming in his palm and shooting from in the direction he flipped. Barely a millisecond, and a jet of ice cold water splashed him in the face – caught off guard he panicked, knocking himself off balance as he swiped at his face, eventually tripping over his own feet.

"Apparently not..." He replied, barely audible over Squall's laughing.

He wiped himself down and hurried after Squall. He couldn't believe he'd just used magick without a GF junctioned. It wasn't the same water spell he'd cast with paramagic – there were no bubbles, no slow rise of condensation before the water formed. It was instant, exactly as he'd pictured, and freezing cold. The paramagic version had always been warm.

He'd just known what to do, known what he wanted to happen. And deep down, he'd known that it would happen. Looking back, he was actually confused as to why he was so surprised when he'd got soaked. There was just a confidence, a radiance within him now he'd never felt before. The realisation that the bursts of magick around him could be manipulated to his own ends stuck him like a lightning bolt – he really was a sorcerer. He really _was_ powerful.

"Well at least me and Selphie can junction more than our usual four GFs. Might help us keep up with you when you're slinging spells left right and centre." Squall smirked, his voice reaching Zell again, snapping out of his reverie. "And maybe for once you can heal one of us instead charging on all guns blazing, oblivious."

Zell fleetingly imagined soaking Squall, to punish him for the teasing he was being subjected to. But then he considered the _other_ possibilities of doing that – the more attractive possibilities - and filed the idea away for later use. Instead, he simply smiled, put his hands behind his heads and rejoined his lover on their way back to the cabin.

"Maybe I will." Was his simple reply.

_Needed to cover a lot in this chapter to get to where I want to be faster. Let me know you're thoughts on where this is going if you have any. Apart from explaining Ultimeci's reappearancea, I don't really know what I'm wanting to happen before the ending – best suggestions may be included?:P_


End file.
